Necromancer's Darkness
by The Digital Gate
Summary: [Sequel to Expect the Unexpected] Akuonimon's back and thirsty for revenge. Two duelists are chosen as Tamers and pose as a threat the the Necromancer. Assasins start appearing and in the midst of all the confusion, someone is killed. [Rated T in case.]
1. Hello's and Goodbye's

**The Digital Gate:** This was suggested by some and approved by others, so I decided to write it.

**Disclaimer:** I dom't own Digimon or Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

**Note:** This takes place after Chazz returns to Duel Academy and after Chumley leaves. Professor Banner and Jaden have already dueled. Kage-something has already lost. Am I too confusing?

* * *

**Necromancer's Darkness**

"Move _faster!_"

"I'm trying!" The second voice sounded irratated, as if the owner had been yelled at more than once.

"Then try _harder!_" The first voice sounded impatient. "The dratted Digimon is getting away!"

A silent snarl replied, but the order was obeyed.

The first voice sounded through the pale light. "Look! A portal's opened up and _he's going through it. **Hurry!**_"

The Digimon was nearly beside himself. "Then swipe a card already!"

"You think I can see in this darkness?" his Tamer retorted. "Oh, wait, nevermind. I found one. Digi-Modify! Hyper Acceleration activate!"

The Digimon immeadiatly sped up. "He's getting away!"

"Then hurry! The portal's almost closed!" The human's voice had lost all impatience, and had filled with dread.

Antylamon put on a final burst of speed, passing through the portal less than one second after the other Digimon.

* * *

Chazz kicked the ground on top of the rocky cliff. "Slifer slacker," he muttered. "Stealing my food again." 

Nothing had changed much after Suzy had left. The only change was that Dimitri had grown more distant from the others, which was fine by him. "He was annoying anway," Chazz said out loud. "I'm glad _some_ things changed."

And that was why he didn't expect the sky to rip open. Or for a monster to leap out. Or for a familiar-looking rabbit to jump after it, a human on its shoulder.

Before Chazz could get a better look, white mist shrouded around them. _This seems...familiar..._ he realized with a start. Two splashes were heard. A low snarl erupted from within. Someone shouted a gurgled reply. Chazz strained his ears. "I've heard that voice somewhere before..."

A voice came loud and somewhat clear. "Digi-Modify! Heavy Metal!"

More splashes were heard, accompanied by a banshee wail. A thunder-like sound exploded in the heart of the mist. Then without warning, the mist faded away to reveal a gigantic rabbit-ish being standing in the ocean. A brown-haired human, looking soaked, was crouching on a rock nearby spluttering up sea water.

Red particles swirled around them. The rabbit seemed to move towards it when the human stopped coughing spoke, stopping it. The rabbit relented and watched the data float away before scanning its surroundings. The human, however, resumed coughing.

"S-Suzy?" Chazz spluttered, having finally gotten a good look at the Tamer and Digimon.

Suzy was equally shocked. She somehow managed to fall into the ocean again, swallowing in a new batch of water. Antylamon, heaving a sigh, rolled his eyes and plucked her from the ocean. "Chazz?" Suzy's gaze swept over the island. "_Duel Academy?_"

Antylamon didn't seem as suprised about seeing him. "Is there a new dorm?"

"What?"

"He's wearing a black uniform, isn't he?"

* * *

"Where's Suzy and Lopmon? They should have been back by now." 

Someone with messy brown hair adjusted his too-tight goggles. "Don't worry Henry," he assured. "She's fine."

Henry didn't looked completely reassured, but he stopped pacing. "What about Yazuki, then? He should have returned too."

"Told you to let me search for him," Kazu broke in. "Guardromon and I could've found him in no time!"

"Liar!" retorted Kenta.

"No, you're the liar!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Stop it!" Both Tamers, 18 and somewhat immature, turned to look at a red-head. "_Both_ of you are liars, now stop aruging," Rika snarled. A glower on her face increased her threat.

"Pi," Marineangemon added.

Kazu stared blankly at the Digimon. "You need to use the restroom?"

"Moumantai," Terriermon drawled, turning over in his sleep.

* * *

"You haven't seen Yazuki?" Suzy repeated. 

"For the last time: NO!" snapped Chazz. "Stop asking!"

Lopmon gave a yawn. "I think you should," he mumbled. "He's no help at all."

Suzy began to retort, but changed her mind. "Good point."

"Let's go searching in the forest," Lopmon offered. "He might be there."

"Why?"

"We followed him here, didn't we?"

Suzy frowned. "The Digimon?" Seeing Lopmon's face, she quickly corrected herself. "Oh..Yazuki... But he could be anywhere," she protested.

"Well it's better than talking to Mr. Chazz Dorky-Doofus Princeton," Lopmon replied aimlessly. "Now let's go."

Suppressing a laugh, his Tamer tailed behind.

"Hey!" Chazz stood up and ran after them. "Take that back!"

Suzy turned around. "Take what back?"

"That nickname-or-whatever it was!"

"Can't," Suzy replied simply.

Before the now-enraged duelist could reply, someone broke in: "Cha-azz! Where are you?"

Suzy muffled a laugh. "Do you have a fan club or something?"

"No I don't! That's just--"

"Suzy?"

Lopmon, who had ignored all the commotion, stopped. "That's just Suzy?" he repeated.

"Alexis! It's Suzy!"

"What?" Footsteps came.

Suzy glanced over her shoulder. Alexis, Jaden, and Syrus stared back at her. She gave a small wave. "Nice to see you again...?"

Whatever the duelists' reaction would have been, Lopmon's scream interrupted it. "SUZY!"

She was off in a flash, heart filling with dread. "What?" the Tamer called.

"Yazuki."

* * *

The Tamer gave a small grunt and painfully sat up. Faces swam before him. "Eh?" 

A wet cloth was pressed to his forehead. "You shouldn't move. Rest." Suzy. Why was she here? And who were the others? It hurt to think.

"You should lie down."

Finally, Yazuki obeyed. Meinumon set the Tamer's fallen blanket back over him.

"Will he be alright?" Lopmon asked.

"I think so." Beyond that, Meinumon didn't speak. Instead, he dozed off, tired from earlier activites.

**Flashback**

_"Do you see him?" Yazuki gasped out, clutching his side._

_Meinumon squinted into the darkness. "No..._

_"Great." Silence; unseen eyes strained through the empty darkness, ears trained for any movement or rustle. Suddenly a flash. "There!"_

_The order wasn't needed; paws had already begun the pound against the ground._

_"Hurry! He can't escape!" The first speaker, voice already scratchy, gave out a faint order._

_"You sound sick...are you sure?"_

_"I'm _fine_. Ju--" The sentence wasn't finished, Yazuki had begun to cough, and showed no since of relenting._

**End Flashback**

The Digimon hurriedly shook himself awake. _I should have made him rest_, Meinumon thought grimly.

Yazuki suddenly sat up. "He's here," the Tamer said hoarsely.

"Who's here?" Jaden asked doubtfully.

"Akuonimon."

Suzy frowned. "I don't see him. Now _get some rest._"

Before anyone could move, mist poured from the skies, accompanied by the annoying beeping sound from digivices. A sound that meant one thing: Trouble.

"_You should listen to your cousin more._" Laughter erupted. "_After all this time...we get to meet face-to-face once again.. And I'm not going away this time._"

"After all this time?" Syrus repeated.

"I'll explain later," Suzy told him hurriedly. "Meanwhile...run!"

Everyone obeyed, Meinumon scooping up his Tamer. Everyone except Chazz. He stood, staring open-mouthed and shocked.

Suzy uttered a curse under her breath, turned back, grabbed his wrist and pulled. "Can't you listen for once? Run!"

This time, he did listen. The group, tripping over their own feet ran faster than they ever had before. Akuonimon pursued them heartily, laughing.

But soon enough Yazuki, who was barely hanging on, slipped off. Meinumon was beside him in the blink of an eye. "Get up," he urged. "Akuonimon's coming."

Suzy, still dragging Chazz and last in the line, let go and tugged on her older cousin. "_Get up_"

"I can't," was his defeated mumble. "Too tired. Just go on."

"_Yes, go on. Leave us alone. That way, I can talk to the brat_." Akuonimon had finally caught up. He hovered above them.

"Never," Suzy retorted.

The Necromancer didn't tolerate her for long. "_Hidoi Fate!_"

"Uh-oh." The attack slammed into her, even as she began to move. She crashed into Chazz, who tripped over Lopmon. All three fell, stunned, into a bush. Yazuki might have laughed had it not been so serious. Or if he had the strength to.

"_Come on now, don't glower at me like that. Don't you remember your master_?" inquired Akuonimon.

Meinumon, who had looked as if he was ready to tear something's head off, didn't answer.

"_Ah, yes...G-_"

"Leave," Meinumon snarled. "Now."

"_What if I don't want to?_"

"Leave," repeated Meinumon.

"_Not without taking him first._"

Threads of darkness shot out from behind Akuonimon. Its target: Yazuki. Meinumon snarled, even more viciously than before. Then he leaped straight into the path.

His Tamer had just focused in time to see the strands coming towards in. He had sucked in a ragged breath, only to let it out in confusion. "Get out of the way!" Yazuki ordered.

"Never," Meinumon replied. And stood there, even as the threads wound themselves tightly around him, showing absolutely no mercy. Yazuki took a step and collapsed.

"Let...him...go.." he wheezed.

Akuonimon chuckled. "_Why? Like he said, 'Never._'"

The threads gave one last squeeze. The Necromancer gave a mock wave. Meinumon choked out: "Stay safe." Then they were gone.

"**_MEINUMON!_**"

* * *

**TBC**

**The Digital Gate:** That's the first chapter...And I'm really sorry if it isn't as good as the first. **  
**


	2. Yazuki's Decision

**The Digital Gate:** Sorry it took so long, I had to study for finals. And once again, I'm sorry if this doesn't match up to _Expect the Unexpected_. Thank you for your time.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or Yu-Gi-Oh GX, only the characters I made up.

* * *

_Bam._ A slight pause. _Bam._ Another pause. _Bam_. 

"_Stop_ it."

Yazuki didn't bother to turn around. "Why should I?" _Bam_.

A hand grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around. "I said, _stop it_," Suzy repeated firmly. "You're sick enough as it is. If you keep cracking your head like that--"

"I don't care!" Yazuki thrust her hand away. "Meinumon got taken away. And it's my fault! I could've stopped Akuonimon. Besides, it was _me_ who he was after, not Meinumon!"

"It's just as much of my fault that he got taken away."

"You weren't the one who was conscious! I should have done something!" Yazuki's voice was rising, and showed no point in stopping. Even his growing headache didn't matter. "I could have pushed him out of the way!"

Suzy didn't relent. "It's no fault of yours. You couldn't move; you were too weak."

Yazuki's answer was to pummel her in the jaw. Suzy winced. Behind her, the duelists (besides Chazz) stared. Lopmon started to step forward when his Tamer gestured for him to stay back.

"How's...that for weak?" Yazuki huffed. His breath now came in rapid short gasps. "Well..? Answer...me.."

Suzy shrugged. "Could've been worse."

"That's all...you're going to...say? I..._punched_ you in...the _jaw_. Doesn't..it hurt?"

"If it helps you calm down, then so be it."

No sooner had the words left her mouth, Yazuki collapsed. Suzy caught hold of him and gently lay him down. "He's got a burning fever," she noted. "Lopmon, could you hand me my canteen?"

* * *

"It's been long enough. I'm going to search for them. _Now_," Henry announced, standing up. 

Takato looked up. "You shouldn't really go in this darkness, you'll trip or something. How about in the morning?" he suggested.

Terriermon snorted. "Are you kidding me? It's not much better then. Some leader _you_ are."

"Terriermon..."

The Digimon grinned. "What? I'm just saying the truth."

"Well, the truth isn't pretty. Now let's go."

"Moumantai, Henry. They'll be fine."

* * *

"Suzy..." Alexis began as she watched the female Tamer turn around. 

"Yes?"

"Don't you think it's about time you told us about Akuonimon? From what Jaden said, you defeated him."

Suzy blinked. "Oh...right..." She hesitated, glancing at Lopmon. When the Digimon gave an nod, she began: "A few weeks after I returned home and Henry fully recovered, he came with me to the Digital World to search for Primary Village. It's a place where Digimon go after they get deleted. They get reborn there," she added hastily, seeing the confused looks.

"We eventually found Primary Village, and with it, Lopmon. But less than one day after Lopmon hatched, in a different form, than Akuonimon re-appeared. He somehow closed off any open gate and cast a dark cloud over the entire Digital World. So Henry, Lopmon, and I were stuck there. All the other Tamers were in the human world.

"But soon enough, Yazuki and Meinumon found a way through. They brought along all the others as well. When they arrived, the first thing Meinumon did was roar. Akuonimon heard it. We heard it. Nearly everyone heard us.

"Akuonimon did his best to keep us seperate, but all of us met up eventually. When we did, Yazuki had caught a cold for some strange reason. He ignored it, though, and told us that ever since we left, Digimon working for Akuonimon had been coming into our world almost daily. They seemed to posses something that let them open portals at will.

"Takato and the others had fought nearly everyday, and were too tired to move by then."

Suzy continued to speak throughout the night, talking about how the revived Necromancer had cause chaos across his homeland, deleting nearly every Digimon in sight. How he had sent what the Tamers called 'Aku Soldiers' out to ambush them night after night with no sucess. How they had started tracking down the soldiers and deleting them one by one when one night, Yazuki and Meinumon disappeared. Suzy, along with Lopmon, had set out to find him, instead found a soldier, and chased him to the real world where they found Duel Academy.

Her cousin lay sleeping, twitching occasionally with a murmur. With his brow furrowed, Yazuki seemed as if he was planning something.

* * *

"Ouch..." Yazuki slowly sat up and scanned his surroundings. Suzy and Lopmon, along with everyone else, were curled up, sleeping. One of them was snoring, but he couldn't tell. It hurt to think. 

With a flash, he remembered everything that happened. Akuonimon traveled to the real world to get him, and instead had taken Meinumon. "It's my fault, it's all my fault," Yazuki muttered to himself. "I have to find him. I _have_ to."

He scrambled up, shaking off the blanket that had been on top of him. He whipped around, searching for his digivice and pack of cards. Locating them, he grabbed one in each hand, spun around to face the forest, held his digivice up and shouted, "Open!"

To his suprise, it worked. A digital grid appeared, stretching from one tree to another. Yazuki glanced back. Safe. No one had woken up.

He faced the portal again. _Here goes something_. The Tamer gritted his teeth and charged through. Whether he had arrived safely or not, he didn't know. He had collapsed, unconscious.

* * *

"Suzy, wake up!" Someone was shaking her, and it wasn't gently.. 

"Just five more minutes..." she mumbled in response, rolling over. The shaking resumed.

"Suzy, _get up!_ Yazuki's gone!"

She rolled farther away. The shaking was _really_ starting to get on her nerves. "Then go and order a new one."

This time, the shaking stopped and didn't start again. "Someone go and get some water. I need to pour it on her head."

"No need. I'll do it."

"Wait. Chazz, that's too much. _Chazz!_"

Suzy groaned and sat up, blinking water out of her eyes. "What the?" She glanced up. Chazz stood in front of her, a bucket dripping wet. "Yow!"

Lopmon glanced at her. "What?"

"Nothing. I just thought I'd woken up to a nightmare, that's all. Why am I so wet?"

"Because you wouldn't get up," Lopmon stated simply. "I asked someone to go and fetch water to pour on you, but Chazz decided to dump a bucket filled with water instead."

Suzy shook her head violently, spraying everyone nearby with water. "He did what?"

"Dumped an entire bucket of water on you."

She froze. "Why that little--" In less than a second, she had stood up, grabbed the bucket, and shoved it into Chazz's face.

"Hoo boy," Lopmon groaned.

"What was that for?" Chazz shouted.

"Why did _you_ pour an entire bucket on me?"

"Because you wouldn't wake up!"

"I don't need a bucket-full of water to wake me up! Your scratchy voice is enough to send anyone running!"

"Then how come no one's running?"

They continued for several more minutes, bantering about each other's hair, voice, body odor, and more. Neither side showed any sign of giving up to the other.

"Uh...aren't you going to stop them?" Syrus asked, turning to Lopmon.

He shook his head. "Arguing will keep her awake for a while."

"Besides, I haven't seen Chazz this angry in a long time," Jaden grinned cheefully.

"What about yesterday when you stole his food?" Syrus reminded.

"Oh yeah."

Finally, Chazz and Suzy stopped. Their voices were hoarse and they seemed to have run out of breath. Suzy plopped down.

"Why did you need to wake me up again?" she croaked.

Lopmon gestured to where Yazuki had been. "Yazuki's gone."

Suzy's eyes popped wide open. "_What?_"

The rabbit Digimon nodded. "I found out about half an hour ago. I woke the others up pretty quickly, except for Jaden. He took a while. Not as long as you though, he was pretty hungry for breakfast. Then we got you up, and you started bickering."

Suzy let out a scratchy groan. "He could be _anywhere_ by now..."

"Or in the Digital World," Alexis put in.

"Huh?"

Lopmon sighed. "Look behind you."

Suzy spun around. The portal Yazuki had opened was still there. Lopmon stepped up beside her. "You know what we have to do."

She nodded. "Go after him." The Tamer turned to the duelists. "We're going to leave now. You all stay here."

"Why? I want to help!" Jaden retorted. "Yazuki's _my_ friend too!"

Lopmon stared. "You barely know him..."

"So?"

"Look, just stay," Suzy ordered. "It's too dangerous." She turned towards the portal. "Lopmon, let's go." The Digimon hopped onto her shoulder as she took off. Seconds later, they both disappeared into it.

Jaden stood up. "I'm going too," he announced.

"What? But Jaden, she just said--" Syrus began.

"Since when do I listen?" Jaden cut him off.

"Good point. But still--" Syrus started again. He never got to finish. Jaden had charged straight through. "Aw, man...Wait up!" The small duelist sprinted after his friend, disappearing into the portal as well.

Alexis stared before regaining her composure. "I'm not going to let boys get all the fun. I'm going too."

The only one to hear her was Chazz. He watched as she walked into it before turning away. "They can go if they want. I don't care. I'm not the one who will get killed." His steps slowed as he hesitated.

"There's no way I'm going...no way..." he repeated. But his words denied his thoughts. Chazz spun around and, against his will, ran into the portal.

* * *

**TBC**

**The Digital Gate:** Uh...can someone tell me how the Ojamas act? And their names and how to spell it?


	3. Separation and Declaration

**The Digital Gate:** Thanks for your reviews. They helped.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX or Digimon.

* * *

Suzy was furious. When she had arrived in the Digital World, Yazuki was gone, which had only made her temper worse. "I thought I told you not to come!" she had snapped. 

"Since when do I listen?" Chazz had retorted.

"You could have at least _stopped_ them from entering the portal!"

At this Chazz had snorted. "I don't want to be bothered by two Slifer Slackers."

Suzy had responded by jabbing a finger at his coat. "You're one too."

"So?" He had had to keep the anger out of his voice.

"So _nothing_. But what really puzzles me is that you let Alexis in."

Chazz had winced. "What does she have to do with this?"

"You like her, don't you? I've seen how you look at her. Takato and Jeri do that a lot."

Then, to his horror, Ojama Yellow had decided to pop out. "Hey boss!" he greeted. "She sure got you on that one!"

"Go _away!_"

Suzy had stared. "Who is that ugly thing?"

After that, they had gotten into a fight, not hand-to-hand, but it nearly turned into one. Luckily, Lopmon had intervened before his Tamer could throw a punch. Now Suzy stalked at the head of their group as they trekked through the darkness, shining a flashlight as she walked. Not that it helped.

Chazz stared at her retreating back. What was wrong with her? From what had happened when she left...he'd thought she'd act..well...nicer. _But she only acts like she hates me even more. Like I care. I have Alexis..._ His gaze switched over to the Obelisk Blue, not caring on what he stepped on or where he was walking. _She's so--_

"Hey," Suzy interrupted, breaking his thoughts.

"What?" he snapped back.

She pointed at his. "You're stepping on Ojoma Black."

Chazz glanced down. "Huh? Whatever. And it's Oj_a_ma," he corrected as he lifted his foot up.

"Suzy," Lopmon called from up ahead, "There's something...moving..."

As the Tamer scurried off, Chazz stared with distaste at the solid duel spirit.

**Flashback**

_"Go _away!_" Chazz snapped at Ojama Yellow. "And don't come back!"_

_"Aw...but boss..." Ojama Yellow whined. "I--"_

_He was cut off by Chazz, who had slapped his hands together in an attempt to get rid of the monster. It didn't work. Instead of disappearing, Ojama Yellow only felt pain._

_"He's solid..." Chazz realized._

_"Yup," Jaden agreed suddenly. "And so is Winged Kuriboh. Cool, huh?"_

_Lopmon watched them. "Seems like in the Digital World, those...things...become real."_

_"Which means I'm stuck with..." Chazz trailed off, turning to the three Ojama brothers._

_"Us!" the cheered._

_Suzy snorted. "Perfect. They even look like you."_

_**End Flashback**_

"Ouch..." groaned Ojama Black. "I think my back broke.."

"Just get up," Chazz ordered.

While the solified duel spirit struggled to rise, Suzy called: "Can someone help? There's something here and I can't get it out."

Alexis knelt down to help while Jaden held the flashlight, occasionally shining it somewhere else until Lopmon finally snatched it from him and gave it to Syrus.

Chazz stood in the background, unsure of whether to help or not. Alexis glanced up. "A little help?" she asked. "We can't do this ourselves, you know."

"Yeah, come on boss!" Ojama Yellow chirped.

'Boss' finally agreed, much to Suzy's amusement. Ignoring her snickers, Chazz bent down and began brushing dirt off the figure when something bit him. Hard.

"OUCH!" he howled.

"Yuck," spat the attacker/biter.

Suzy blinked. "Yazuki?"

"Suzy?"

"Hello? Doesn't anyone care about me?" Chazz shouted, waving his arms in the air. Not that anyone could see them.

"What're you doing here?" Suzy asked her cousin.

"Collapsed into a hole," was the answer. "Feel better than before, though." Yazuki pulled himself out of the hole and crouched there, panting slightly.

"Good," boomed a foreign voice. "Then you won't mind coming with me."

Both Tamers stood up, one supported by the other. "Actually, we _do_ mind," Yazuki retorted.

"Too bad, Akuonimon ordered me to fetch you, at all costs."

Yazuki froze. "If I go...Meinumon will be there as well..."

"Don't you _dare_," Suzy whispered fiercely.

"But..."

"But _nothing_."

"Elimination of Many!" the enemy Digimon boomed, interrupting the small arguement. Suzy and Yazuki, who were both standing in front, got the brunt of the blast. They toppled back a few feet, crashing into everyone else.

Struggling to his feet, Yazuki rose and analyzed the Digimon, using Suzy's fallen flashlight. "Kobunmon. Virus Type, Ultimate Level, Special Ability: Dekai Wind." He paused. "Uh-oh..."

"What's so bad about that?" Syrus wanted to know. "Lopmon can stop it, right?"

"Uh...Meinumon told me about him once and his attack, Dekai Wind, can--" Yazuki stopped, turning away and coughing violently into his hand.

Syrus turned to the other Tamer. "Suzy? Do you know about Kobunmon?"

"Suzy's knocked out," Alexis replied.

"So what does 'Dekaii Wind' do?" Syrus asked frantically, misprounoncing the name.

Jaden stared ahead. "Uh..guys? I think we're about to find out..."

"Dekai Wind!"

* * *

Henry swept his flashlight's light around, hoping to find his sister, or at least Lopmon. "Where could they be?" 

Terriermon hopped in step beside him. "Avoiding you?" he suggested.

"Terriermon..."

"What?"

_Thud_.

"Ouch! Get _off_ me, you Slifer Slacker!"

"Hey, boss is awake!"

"I've _been_ awake! Now go away!"

"Why is the doofus speaking so loudly?" someone muttered.

Henry whipped his flashlight around. "Suzy?"

"..Henry?"

"Anyone see Jaden?"

The flaslight landed on a jumble of humans, on Digimon, and three monsters wearing bathings suits. They all lay there, blinking at what had just happened. "Suzy!"

"Henry!" Suzy leaped up and dashed into her brother's arms. Henry managed to hold onto the flashlight while hugging his sister at the same time. Syrus glanced around.

"Where's Jaden?"

Suzy turned. "He's not here?"

Syrus shook his head. "No. Neither is Alexis."

"What?" Chazz leaped to his feet. _That Slacker is right...she's not here..._

"Who's he?" Henry wanted to know.

"His name is Doofus McDoofus, the guy with blue hair and glasses is Syrus Trusdale and those monsters in bathing suits are the Ojama Brothers. They're supposed to be 'duel spirits' or something like that, but they turned solid when they came into the Digital World," Suzy explained in a rush.

"My name is _Chazz Princeton!_" Chazz bellowed.

Terriermon pointed an accusing finger up at the duelist. "So _you're_ the person who stole Suzy's first kiss. Naughty, naughty, naughty. Henry is not going to be happy..."

"I'm right here, and drop the matter." Ignoring Chazz's splutter of fury, Henry turned to his sister who didn't even look embarrased. "Where's Yazuki? Didn't you go after him? And why are they"--he guestured towards Syrus and the fuming Chazz--"here?"

Suzy paused. "Er...I chased a Digimon and he went through a portal, we followed, ended up in Duel Academy, found Yazuki and Meinumon, Akuonimon appeared and took Meinumon, Yazuki kept blaming himself and left through another portal sometime in the night, I went through the same one in the morning after telling everyone not to follow, didn't find Yazuki when Lopmon and I landed in the Digital World, Jaden lands on top of me, followed by Syrus, then Alexis, then Doofus, we met Yazuki, and Kobunmon appeared. He attacked us, and I got knocked out, and I don't remember anything else," she rambled.

Henry stared at her. "I'm sorry, what?"

* * *

"I don't see why we had to leave the campsite," muttered Rika, shining the flashlight straight into Ryo's face. 

He rolled his eyes and pushed the electrical device away. "Weren't you the person who suggested to?"

Rika scowled in response, biting back a retort. Suddenly Ryo gave a yelp and jumped back. "What? Step on a snake?" Rika smirked.

"No...but nice guess. I think I stepped on a human.." He bent down. "Hand me the flashlight." Instead of handing it to him, Rika redirected the flashlight beam.

"Yazuki?"

"Hello."

Ryo offered his hand. "Who are the rest? And what happened?"

"Remember when I went to Duel Academy? These are the duelists I met," Yazuki replied. "Basically, Kobumon, you know, Akuonimon's henchman (actually, Digimon) appeared and used 'Dekai Wind', which blows his enemies far away. I don't know why he likes to use it so much."

"Er...Yazuki...?" Alexis began. "We're missing some people."

* * *

"Oh, I see." Henry lasped into a thoughtful silence. His sister had just gotten through telling him what had just happened, with Lopmon finishing when his Tamer had been knocked out. Suzy, having finished explaining, played with her flashlight absentmindedly, flashing it into Chazz's face unexpectedly until he couldn't take it anymore. 

"Stop it!" he exploded.

Suzy turned away. "Just a flashlight."

"Just stop it," Lopmon put in. "Henry already has a flashlight, and we need to save the batteries." His Tamer shrugged, but put the annoyance away.

After that, no one spoke for a while, only the occasional sneeze that came from Syrus, accompanied by Ojama Green saying, "Bless You".

"Why is it so cold here?" the smallest duelist suddenly asked .

Henry glanced over his shoulder. "Don't know. Weather is odd like this over here."

"Are we lost?" Suzy finally asked, bringing up the question that everyone wanted to know the answer to. Her brother shrugged in response before answering:

"Maybe, but we should make camp for one night, just in case."

Within a few minutes the camp was set up. Chazz stared. "This is it?" he asked. "Just a fire?"

"Deal with it," Suzy snapped as the three Ojama Brothers danced around the fire joyfully. "We don't have all the luxuries in the world."

Suddenly, the Obelisk-turned-Slifer couldn't stand it anymore. From the time he saw her until now, he had accepted her insults. But now he could no longer take it. He wanted to know the truth. "I need to talk with you," he snapped back, dragging her away.

When they were out of earshot, she slapped his hand away. "What?"

"Why are you doing this?"

Suzy stayed put on the ground. "Doing what?"

"Everytime I speak, you usually have something to snap back at me for. You keep throwing insults at me!"

"Probably because you deserve them."

"Just tell me _why_!"

Suzy didn't relent. "You like Alexis, don't you?"

Chazz felt a slight blush. "So what if I do?"

"Why do you care about how I treat you?"

"_Because_," Chazz began before stopping and rewording. "Because when you left, you...I...we kissed, and when I saw you again, I thought you'd treat me the same way," he finished lamely.

"You didn't treat me the same way, so why should I treat you the same way?" Suzy asked, boredom creeping into her voice.

"What is your problem?" Chazz yelled.

Suzy rose to her full height, her eyes glinting dangerously. She locked eyes with him before speaking, her voice dripping with venom. "I hate you."

* * *

**TBC**

**The Digital Gate:** Uh...should the duelists get Digimon partners? It might make it better, but I'm not sure.


	4. Primary's Ouu

**The Digital Gate:** Thanks for your reviews. And Gaomon is not one of the Digimon. They will be made-up.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or Yu-Gi-Oh GX

* * *

_She hates me?_ Chazz stared ahead idly. _What did I do? Wait--what am I thinking? I don't care whether Suzy hates me or not. I--_ Before he could finish his thoughts, his eyes closed and he dozed off.

Somewhat next to him, feet in a perfect position to kick the black-haired duelist's head, Suzy toyed with her own thoughts. _Don't know why I said that. I don't hate him...do I? Eh...better get to sleep... Otherwise I won't be able to get up tomorrow morning._ Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened.

* * *

_Thud_. Kobunmon stomped along the road. _Thud_. He was certain that he had saw on of the Tamers fall over here _somewhere_. The Virus Digimon paused, scratching his nose absentmindedly. Like Meinumon, he was also a tiger-ish, cat-like Digimon. But instead of walking on all four legs, sometimes he chose to walk on two.

Now he settled on his two hind legs and lashed his tail out irritably. Where _was_ that arrogant Tamer? Suddenly he caught a whiff. _Got him!_

* * *

"Breakfast is ready." Henry's voice woke Suzy from a deep sleep. She sluggishly sat up and sat there, rubbing her eyes. "You're up earilier than usual," Henry noted, handing her a portion of his rice ball. "Why is that?"

"Chazz turned over in his sleep and managed to kick me," Suzy grunted as she propped her head on her elbow. "Little--" she began but broke off into a yawn before finishing, "twit."

Something moved. "Am not."

Suzy mumbled a response before continuing to chew her food, eyes half-closed. She swallowed before saying, "Anyone besides me hear a Digimon?"

Henry glanced up doubtfully. "No..."

Syrus chose to sit up at that moment. "Why's the ground shaking?"

"What?" Henry stood and found that Syrus was right. Realization dawned on him as the drowsiness of sleep left. "Kobunmon!"

"Cocomon? Isn't that Willis's partner from the television show?" Suzy gave a head-splitting yawn. "What's he doing here?"

Henry groaned inwardly. He'd forgotten that Suzy wasn't a morning person, even though when she was younger, she was the one who woke him up. Now it was the other way around. "Kobunmon," he repeated and when he didn't get any response and Suzy instead had fallen back to sleep, he turned to Chazz. "Carry her, will you?"

Chazz's jaw dropped. "_What?_"

"Carry her. I can't since I need to have two hands if Kobunmon catches up to us. And Syrus can't."

Chazz let out a groan. "Fine..." He turned to the Ojama brothers. "You three stay out of my way."

Ojama Yellow gave a salute. "You got it, boss."

When everything was ready, Terriermon stomped out the fire for fun and immeadiatly started complaining about the pain. He hopped onto his Tamer's shoulder and, flashlight in his hand, he took the lead and they started off.

"Where are we going?" Chazz asked after one minute of silence. He tried to shift his 'load' as he waited for an answer. _She's heavy_, he grumbled to himself.

"Hopefully back to the camp," Henry called back.

"Not if I stop you. Wait..you're that girl Tamer. Oh well," a familiar voice interjected smoothly. "Oh, look. You've made a new friend. Not too bad, I suppose. What's this? Another puny rabbit?"

"Hey!" Terriermon shouted. "At least I'm not big and ugly like _you!_"

"Terriermon..." Henry groaned. One hand held the flashlight, and the other was digging for a card.

Something landed with a thud in front of them. "Now, are you going to come quietly or put up a fight?"

"Aw, man," Syrus whispered, backing away.

"Hey, boss!" Ojama Yellow suddenly cried out. "Why don't you take this guy out? He's a nuisance!"

"So are you," Chazz muttered under his breath.

Kobunmon took a step forward and one of his paws appeared in the flashlight's ray of light. "This is taking too long. Elimination of Many!"

Henry had already chosen a card to swipe by then. "Digi-Modify! Digivolution Activate!"

"Gargomon! Take this! Gargo Pellets!" Terriermon's Champion form yelled with enthusiam. "Puny now, am I?"

"Don't get cocky," Kobunmon snarled. "Dekai--"

Gargomon interrupted him. "Bunny Pummel!"

"Little _brats_," hissed Kobunmon angrily. "You'll regret that."

Syrus gulped nervously. "I think we should run now."

"For once the slacker is right," Chazz agreed. "Let's go. Gargomon can't win." Not only that, but Suzy was getting heavier by the second.

"DEKAI WIND!" Kobunmon roared, forgetting that he would have to give chase once they were blown away.

"Not _again_," Lopmon groaned. Suzy chose to wake up at that moment.

"Why are we flying through the air?" she mumbled.

* * *

A red Digimon with blue stripes stuck his head out. "I hear screaming..." he muttered to himself. "Am I hearing things?"

_Crash._

"OUCH!"

"Get offa me ya big loaf!" Terriermon shrieked from the very bottom of the pile.

"Terriermon..." Henry warned.

"What? You expect me to get squished and appreciate it?"

Suzy, somewhere in the middle, groaned, "Stop talking so loudly. I just got up.."

"And who's fault is that?" Terriermon shot back.

"Who are you?" the Digimon, who had been watching the group fight amongst themselves, asked.

Henry squeezed out and picked himself up. "I'm Henry Wong and the one who keeps mouthing off is Terriermon, my partner. The one with brown hair is Suzy, the one with blue Syrus, black hair (or as Suzy calls him, Doofus) and the brown Digimon is Lopmon. You?"

"The name's Elecmon and this is Primary Village. I haven't seen a human in a while," Elecmon replied.

Syrus stared from his upside-down position. "Why is it so bright here? Wasn't the Digital World supposed to be in darkness?"

Suzy blinked a few times before wriggling out of the mound of humans and Digimon. So far, only she and Henry had gotten out. "He's right..." the Tamer mused, yanking Lopmon out by his ear. The Digimon gave a squawk of protest.

"Oh, that's because I placed lamps around Primary Village," Elecmon explained. "Otherwise, the digi-eggs might get cold. Which reminds me, mind if you guys stay here awhile? Some of Akuonimon's henchman come here frequently. They're after two of the eggs."

Terriermon struggled out, leaving Syrus and Chazz, who hadn't spoken a word, in the pile. "Why? Are those two eggs special or something?"

Elecmon shrugged. "I don't know. One day they weren't here and the next day they were. So, could you guys stay and help me? I'm getting worn out protecting those eggs on my own." When no one said anything, he added, "I have plenty of food."

"Let's stay!" Terriermon cheered.

"And I thought Guilmon was the only Digimon who was hungry all the time," Suzy mumbled. Henry caught her words and rolled his eyes.

"Elecmon," the older Tamer began, "could we see the eggs first?"

Chazz spoke for the first time. "Why do you want to? I mean, it's not like any of _us_ are Tamers." He stood up as he said this and caused Syrus to roll over backwards.

"Who knows?" was Henry's response. He turned to Elecmon. "Can we?"

The Digimon shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

He walked off, turning back to others to beckon. "Well, are you coming or not?"

Within a few minutes, they reached a dead end. A wall of marshmallow-like blocks stood in front of them. Elecmon reached into a small hole and pulled out two eggs. One was bright purple in color, the other emerald-green. Both had rectangle-like designs splattered across the surface. "Here they are. They won't hatch, no matter what I do."

Ojama Yellow "oohed" and "aahed" as Henry bent over to examine them. "They look similiar to all digi-eggs...I don't get it, why won't the hatch?"

"Maybe the right person needs to touch a certain egg," Suzy suggested. "We could get everyone we know who doesn't have a partner to poke both."

"Maybe," Henry mumbled, deep in thought. Suddenly he stepped back as the purple egg soared out of Primary Village's caretaker's hands and headed straight towards Chazz.

The duelist's eyes bugged out. "_Me?_" he cried.

"_Him?_" Suzy stared blankly.

"Yay for boss!" Ojama Yellow cheered. Ojama Black and Ojama Green danced happily in mid-air behind him.

"It...can't be," Chazz choked even as the egg hovered in front of him.

Suzy rolled her eyes. "Just take it already!"

"B-but..."

"Want me to help you?" she snapped.

That got him. "No thanks," he answered hurriedly before grabbing the egg from out in front of him. As his skin made contact with the egg's shell, bright light expanded from it. As the egg began to change form, a small reactangle-like object appeared above him. The egg finished its transformation and quit glowing as the object from above him floated down and hovered next to his head.

Chazz ignored it and stared. In his hands was a small white blob with two shining purple eyes.

"Ouu," it chirped.

"Well, at least he (or she) is cuter than you," Suzy noted from behind him.

* * *

**TBC**

**The Digital Gate:** Ouumon is only a Baby, which I think everyone knows. I've decided that only two of the duelists will get a Digimon partner. Chazz is one, but I can't figure out who should be the other one. Any ideas? I'm thinking about it being Jaden, but I'm not sure.


	5. Assasin One: Rishou

**The Digital Gate:** Thanks for your reviews and Ouumon is a made-up Digimon who's name I gleaned from my brother shouting, "OWWWWWWWWWWW!"

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or Yu-Gi-Oh GX

* * *

_Clonk._ The object that had been hovering in the air finally got tired of waiting and decided to conk him in the head. Chazz was still staring at Ouumon in shock but his head was beginning to throb. 

Suzy moved from behind him and picked the object up. She stared at it in confusion; brow furrowed. Finally she turned to Henry. "What is this? I think it's a digivice, but it doesn't look like ours."

As Henry took it and studied the item, Ouumon spoke again. "Ouu."

Chazz finally got his senses back. "Can't you say anything besides 'Ouu'?"

Terriermon 'tsked' him. "Baby Digimon can't say anything except their name. And if you don't know that, you must be one lousy Tamer! And an even worse one when you grow up!"

"Terriermon..." Henry warned.

Lopmon poked his twin brother in the back. "You really need to stop."

"Aw..." Terriermon grinned.

Syrus was trying to get a good look at Ouumon. "Why is he only a blob? And how come Chazz gets one? Who gets the other?"

"Er...most Baby Digimon are like that, I don't know, and I don't know," Elecmon answered. He held out the emerald-colored one. "But I think you should take this one as well."

"If you're sure..." Suzy began.

"I'm sure," Elecmon nodded. He held out a small bag. "Take this, too. It'll be easier to carry."

Suzy took it and, after carefully rearranging the egg and other items (flashlight, food, etc.), shouldered the bag which had only one strap. "Thanks."

Elecmon shook his head. "I suppose I should be thanking you. Those Digimon won't be attacking Primary Village anytime soon once they figure out the eggs are no longer here. You should be careful."

"She never is," Chazz muttered, finally taking his eyes off of Ouumon. He recieved a kick in the leg. "Ouch!"

"That's what you get," Suzy retorted, turning away. She took out an apple and tossed it backwards. "Feed Ouumon that. He needs to eat."

Henry looked up from studying the object. "Okay you two, stop. We don't have time for this and besides, we should really be going. If Digimon _do_ come, we shouldn't be here. Don't want to endanger the unhatched Digimon."

Elecmon frowned. "So soon?"

Henry nodded. "Besides, it's rarely light and we'd be better off with the others."

"Wait--there are more Tamers?" Syrus asked.

"Yup," Suzy replied, trying to loosen her bag.

Chazz panicked. He wasn't sure if he could take more Suzy-like freaks. "How many more?"

"Many, many more."

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Jaden asked. 

"For the last time, _no_," Rika snapped.

Ryo laughed. "Looks like Wildcat is getting touchy," he remarked.

Rika shot him a glare. "Or annoyed."

"Who wouldn't be?" Alexis grumbled. "Jaden just asked that question for the 15th time."

"And it never gets old," Jaden cut in. He turned to Renamon. "How come you're not talking?"

"Because she doesn't speak much. Now bug off," Rika ordered.

_Crash._ Something skid in front of them. "Darn darkness," it muttered. "Couldn't see that rock."

Yazuki froze. "Kobunmon?"

"Well, well, well. If it isn't that arrogant Tamer."

"What're you doing here?" Jaden demanded. Winged Kuriboh added his own comment, which Jaden translated. "Where are the others?"

"Back at my Master's castle," Kobunmon answered. "Prisoner."

Yazuki gaped. "What? How?"

Kobunmon grinned. "I tracked them down. They were relatively easy to capture."

"Release them!" Ryo snapped. "Some of them have nothing to do with this."

"And some others do. You can never tell," Kobunmon replied simply. He turned around. "If you want to see them, follow me."

Yazuki hesitated before following. "Yazuki!" Rika shouted.

Meinumon's Tamer paused. "Meinumon is there. Suzy is there as well. There's no way of knowing if anybody we know is there as well."

Rika seethed but followed as well. "I'm coming."

"Me too," Ryo added.

"Don't count me out!" Jaden volunteered.

Alexis groaned. "That must mean I'm going, too."

"Then follow me," directed Kobunmon, unable to keep the smirk off his face. _Excellent. Master will be pleased._

* * *

"Henry...have you figured it out yet?" Terriermon whined. "My arms are getting sore from holding this flashlight.." 

"Quir whining already," Suzy mumbled. "My ears are hurting."

"Ouu," Ouumon chirped.

"Stop that!" Chazz ordered. "It's getting annoying." He was still carrying Ouumon in his hands. The Digimon kept staring at him with those violet eyes and squeaking its name at odd times.

Ojama Yellow sat on his head. "Not as annoying as us, right boss?"

"Yes," Chazz answered through gritted teeth. "And that's not a good thing, either," he added.

Ojama Black flew sadly. "He hates us."

"Yeah," Ojama Green agreed.

"Zip it!" snarled Chazz. _Great. Do people _enjoy_ bugging me? First Suzy, then the Ojama Brothers, then Ouumon who never stops _chirping!

"I've got it!" Henry suddenly exclaimed.

"Really?" Syrus asked.

"Yeah. Terriermon aim the flashlight to the ground."

"Aye, aye, captian!" Terriermon saluted, doing his bidding.

Henry knelt down and held the object into the beam. It was the first time most of them had gotten a good look at it. It was red on the outside and rectangular in shape. The top could flip off and revealed a scanner-like thing.

Chazz frowned. "What is that?"

"Your digivice," Henry answered. "Put Ouumon down first."

Before he could do so, Ouumon began to glow. Again, the Digimom began to take a different form. When it was complete, a white mammal that looked like a cross between an eagle and a baby tiger appeared. The violet eyes stayed the same. "Now what happened?" Chazz groaned.

Suzy peered at the Digimon. "Ouumon digivolved into...uh...what's your name?"

"Vaemon," he replied. "That apple was yummy."

"Place him on the ground," Henry instructed. Chazz did as he was told. "Now, you see this scanner?" Henry asked as he flipped the top off. Chazz nodded. "Now, give me a card." Chazz wordlessly handed over a random one (Ojamja Yellow) and Henry placed it face-down on the surface before flipping the top back on. "You see this?" he asked, pointing to a small rift that Chazz hadn't noticied before. Chazz nodded. "Suzy, give me Polymerization." His sister handed the card over.

"Why?" she asked.

"Just watch." Henry took the card and swiped it. Ojama Yellow suddenly zoomed towards Vaemon. They collided and morphed. When the result was shown, everyone looked shocked.

"Ick," Suzy muttered. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Vaemon was now wearing a red-and-white polka dot bathing suit. Besides Vaemon's four legs, four more popped out, the new legs yellow in color. Along with two purple eyes, two more eyes stuck out from the top, much like Ojama Yellow's. Not only that, but the two were fighting.

"It's my body, let _me_ take control already!" Vaemon whined.

"Aw...but it's _my_ beauty," Ojama Yellow replied.

"Beauty," Terriermon snorted.

Henry stared at the combination of Duel Monster + Digimon. "O-kay...Suzy, do you have De-Fusion?" After she handed it to him, Henry took the card and slashed it. Ojama Yellow and Vaemon reappeared as individuals.

"I think we should go now," Suzy muttered.

* * *

Chazz seethed. No matter what he did, he couldn't get his digivice to work right; Vaemon was suffering from his mistakes. "How do you work this thing?" he finally asked. 

Henry paused and walked around a hole that he just saw. "You use combinations. Like Polymerization and Ojama Yellow; he merged with Vaemon, remember? So if you wanted to combine a Duel Monster and Vaemon, just do the same thing I did except a different monster, preferably one that doesn't have a mind of its own."

"That's still confusing," muttered Syrus. Chazz silently agreed.

"Then ask Suzy," Henry suggested.

"_What?_" Chazz cried out. "No way!"

"What he said. There's no way that I'm going to teach a doofus like him to work a digivice correctly," Suzy added.

Henry ignored her. "Next to Rika, she's best at figuring out combinations. She _was_ taught by the Digimon Queen, after all."

"Oh, really? Then I must be the Digimon King," someone cut in. "I've been waiting for you; you guys are really slow."

"How come people keep on popping up when we least expect it?" Lopmon wondered.

"Because you guys stink." A clicking sound was heard and lights flared, momentarily startling everyone who were getting used to the darkness. A golden-haired boy stood above of them, sneering. A black cape was fastened to his shoulders, covering a dark purple shirt. Dark brown cargo pants and black boots were the rest of his outfit. A dinosaur Digimon stood undernearth him, causing the stranger to tower over the group.

"And who are you?" Henry called.

"Me? I'm Rishou, sent to eliminate Vaemon and his Tamer," Rishou replied. "We know his name, so don't look suprised," he added. He leaped off the Digimon and landed in front of them. "This here is Daiyoumon; my partner in crime. He doesn't speak much."

Henry turned off his flashlight. "Eliminate?" he repeated. "In case you didn't know, once Digimon are deleted, they get sent to Primary Village."

Rishou laughed. "Not those kind," he pointed. "Those two eggs we're after, one that has already hatched, won't get reborn."

"How do you know this?" Suzy demanded.

"Why? Because, we've studied them and besides, those two eggs are a threat. Their Tamers, too. Akuonimon wants them gone immeadiatly. That's why us, the Assasins, were called here," Rishou replied with a bored expression on his face. "So, Tamer. Get your cards and let our Digimon fight. If you lose, you lose your life along with Vaemon's."

_"Assasins?_" Suzy repeated. "Then name is fitting enough..."

"You can't just get rid of them if they lose!" Syrus cut in.

"I can, and I will. Well, Tamer?"

"Can't we fight instead of him?" Suzy interrupted. Lopmon bobbed his head in agreement. Chazz stared at her in suprise.

_Since when did Suzy stand up for me?_ Chazz wondered. _Or is it just that she doesn't want to see Vaemon get hurt?_ Out loud, he said, "I agree to the fight."

"What?" Henry turned around. "Vaemon is only an In-Training."

"I think I have the hang of this," Chazz muttered as he placed a card face-down and slashed another one. Vaemon squealed in pain. "Or not," he groaned, re-doing the affect. In disgust, he tossed the digivice to the ground and pulled out his duel disk. "Let's duel instead."

Rishou raised an eyebrow. "Duel?" he echoed.

"Yes, you know. Duel. Duel Monsters?" Chazz replied. He waved his deck in the air. "Don't you know?"

Rishou stared for a moment before grinning. "Oh, that game. I remembering playing it a while ago. My skills are rusty, but who cares? I'll give it a shot."

Daiyoumon started. "But Aku--"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. The stakes are the same, but the game is different," Rishou cut him off. He turned to Syrus. "Duel disk?" The smallest duelist hesitated before tossing it over.

Chazz placed his deck into the device when he felt Suzy staring. "Do you know what you're doing?" she asked.

"You've asked me before. And the answer is yes, I do." Chazz turned to face Rishou who smirked in response.

"Just so you know, Tamer, if you _do_ manage to beat me, which I highly doubt, there will be more Assasins waiting to eliminate both of you," Rishou added. Chazz didn't bother to answer.

"Let's Duel!"

* * *

**TBC**

**The Digital Gate:** Was that too confusing? I tried to explain the digivice as best as I could.


	6. Reinforcements

**The Digital Gate:** Thank you for your reviews. I'm not sure if I did the duel correctly, so sorry if there are any mistakes. And I didn't notice the relation between 'Daiyou' and "Dieyou'. Vaemon is basically a griffin with no beak.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

* * *

Daiyoumon, Lopmon, Terriermon, Vaemon, Henry, Suzy, Syrus and the Ojama brothers had replaced themselves to get a better view while staying back, out of the way. 

"You first," Rishou yawned.

Chazz frowned. "Fine," he snapped, drawing a card. He glanced at it; glanced at his cards in his hand and selected one. "I summon Armed Dragon LV3 (Attack: 1200 Defense: 900) to the field!" Chazz paused, thinking things through. "And I end my turn," he finished lamely.

Rishou raised an eyebrow. "That's it? Well, if you insist." He slid the top card off of his deck, placed it in his deck, and chose a different one. "I play the magic card, Opposites Summoning. If I have two monster cards in my hand whose elements are opposing ones, I get to summon both. I choose Dragon of Electricity (Attack: 1550 Defense: 1500) and Dragon of Water (Attack: 1700 Defense: 1600)."

Rishou flipped the cards over, momentarily showing the pictures, before placing them on his borrowed duel disk. "And when these two dragons are on the field, I can summon the third wheel, Dragon of Earth (Attack: 1400 Defense: 1100), from wherever he is. Grave, hand, deck, whatever." Another card shot out and Rishou placed it next to the other cards.

There were now a total of three dragons on Rishou's side of the field. One looked like it was made up of water with two glowing aquamarine eyes; one was sparking with electricity; one looked as if it was on fire.

Suzy, from the sidelines, looked shocked. "He summoned three monsters in one turn. That's inhuman."

"Chazz is already at a bad start," Syrus added.

Chazz glowered at them before staring across the field. _I don't have Armed Dragon LV5 in my hand, and if Rishou chooses to attack, I'll loose. No...I _can't _loose!_

Rishou looked bored. "I can't attack since Opposites Summoning doesn't allow me to, so I'll play a card face down and end my turn."

"My move." Chazz glanced at his card. His eyes widened. _Armed Dragon LV5. Just what I needed._ Out loud, he said: "I sacrifice Armed Dragon LV3 to summon Armed Dragon LV5 (Attack: 2400 Defense: 1700) in it's place." Rishou still looked bored; not the least bit scared. "And now I use Armed Dragon's special ability--"

"I use the trap card 'Blockage Payment'," Rishou cut him off. "By paying half my life points, I can eliminate an opponent's monster's ability and attack for one turn."

"What?"

"You heard me. End your turn?" Rishou asked.

Chazz spat his words out: "I end it."

* * *

Rishou, once again, looked completely bored. He had just finished summoning 5 different dragons onto the field (Dragon of Water, Dragon of Electricity, Dragon of Fire, Dragon of Earth (Attack: 1500 Defense: 1300), Dragon of Wind (Attack: 1400 Defense: 1000)) and had just finished his turn. He stared on blankly; his life points at 1000 after Armed Dragon LV5 scored a hit on Dragon of Earth. He had revived the dragon though. 

Chazz, on the other hand, only had Armed Dragon LV7 out on the field with 1600 life points after Rishou managed to reverse the affect of Armed Dragon LV5's attack and it hit him as a direct attack instead. Chazz's dragon's special ability no longer worked with the combined affect of his opponent's dragons. He stared at his cards, trying to figure out a way to win. _Rishou's skills are rusty? As if._

"If you aren't going to do anything, then end your turn already," Rishou's bored voice called out.

Chazz didn't answer.

"Go boss!" Ojama Yellow yelled. "We know you can do it!"

Chazz twitched. _Annoying monsters...Annoying duel...Annoying--_

"Hey doofus!" Suzy's voice broke through his thoughts. "What're you _doing?_ Hoping to lose? Because you're doing a great job of it!"

Chazz snapped around and glared at the Tamer. His nerves were already worked up. "No, I'm not!"

"It's hard to tell!" Suzy snapped back. "Your dueling _stinks_."

"It's not like you can duel any better!" Chazz retorted.

"Bet I can."

"Can _not!_ I duel better than you. I can even beat Rishou if I tried hard enough."

Suzy looked skeptical. "So you mean you haven't been trying?"

"That's not what I meant!" Chazz roared. "My point is, I can beat Rishou faster than you can!"

"So prove it," Suzy replied simply.

"I will!"

Suzy folded her arms across her chest. "Good."

Chazz paused. _Wait...what?_ He had sworn he had caught a small flash of a smile.

She looked at him expectantly and raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

He turned back to his duel in response. He scanned his cards again and a plan began forming in his mind. "Armed Dragon LV7! Attack Dragon of Wind!" His monster obeyed at the opposing dragon drifted apart, leaving empty space on the field.

"I activate the trap card: Summoning of One," Rishou yawned. "It cancels any attack and adds the intended damage to my life points instead. I'm not even sure why I agreed to this duel," he added to himself, "it's boring. Really boring."

Chazz ignored him. "Your move."

"I suppose it is." Rishou glanced at his next card. "I activate the magic card Fusing Elements--"the dragons on his field began to merge together--"and summon Master Dragon of Elements (Attack: 2750 Defense: 1900)." A new dragon towered over the spectators and the opponent. It was black in color with five jewels studded on its neck; the jewels were red, yellow, green, gray, and blue in color. "And I end my turn."

Before Chazz could draw and begin his plan, a sudden rumbling shook the ground. He was thrown off-balance and his cards slipped out of his grasp. The holograms on the field vanished. "What the--"

Suddenly a bull-like Digimon charged into the light. It stopped, blinking in confusion before shaking itself and resumed charging. Suzy hastily analyzed the intruding Digimon. "Koorumon," she read. "Beast Digimon. Special Attack: Earthquake Thunder."

"I don't care what special attack it has!" Rishou snapped. "Daiyoumon, get rid of it!"

Daiyoumon obeyed, springing into action. "Claws of Steel!" he roared, bringing his right claw down into the earth. The earth split apart and a bolt of wind shot towards Koorumon.

The Digimon stopped, turned, and shouted, "Earthquake Thunder!" Koorumon brought his front legs up and rammed them into the ground. The earth, once again, split apart and this time wind, a jagged streak of lighting raced to meet the opposing attack. Daiyoumon took advantage of this moment.

"Destructing Tail!" he shouted, lashing his thick tail out. Koorumon tried to canter out of the way, but the tail managed to catch him. He tripped and skid, unable to stop, straight towards Chazz, who was in the middle pf picking his cards up from the ground.

"Move!" Suzy shouted and Chazz looked up in time to run frantically out of the way.

Chazz stared at Koorumon. _That was too close._

Koorumon groaned and stood up, rage emitting from his body. "_Earthquake...**THUNDER!**_" Once again, Koorumon brought his front legs up and slammed them into the ground. This time, however, he did it with more force and the ground shook with the force of the impact. Chazz, who was nearby, fell over and almost lost his grip on his cards.

The ground split open again, but this time, it split into a large chasm. A gigantic lightning bolt sparking with electricity flashed towards Daiyoumon. Rishou seethed, threw his cards to the ground, and grabbed his digivce, black and red in color. "Digi-Modify!" he shouted. "Speed Activate!" Daiyoumon leaped into the air and charged towards Koorumon with newfound speed.

"Eliminating Flames!" Fire spurted out from Daiyoumon's mouth and enveloped Koorumon. When the flames decided to die down, Koorumon had disappeared into data, which Daiyoumon promptly absorbed.

In the midst of it all, Chazz saw Rishou leap towards Suzy, taking care to avoid Henry. Suzy was staring at Daiyoumon with a disgusted expression. Without thinking, Chazz picked his own digivice off the ground, grabbed two cards, placed one in the scanner, and slashed the other. Vaemon sprang into action.

A sword appeared and was grabbed by Vaemon's tail. The small Digimon took off and chucked the weapon just as Rishou was about to reach Suzy. The Assasin jerked out of the way.

Suzy finally came to her senses and stared at Rishou. "What do you want?"

Rishou didn't answer her and leaped backwards onto Daiyoumon instead. He glanced at Chazz as he spoke. "The duel is over. Be glad, Tamer, that I didn't have the chance to attack. If I had, you and that pathetic Digimon wouldn't be here. Just like Koorumon," he stated tonelessly as he crossed his arms, showing no emotion. Daiyoumon stomped away and Rishou could be heard saying, "Next time, if I have to use a card to help you, you'll be sorry."

"Yeesh! Attitude problem!" Terriermon frowned, placing his hands on his hips, wherever they were. "Henry, you should teach him manners, just like you taught me."

Lopmon looked puzzled. "Terriermon has manners?"

Henry shrugged. "I can't tell if he does or not."

"What just happened?" wondered Syrus.

"Uh...thanks," Suzy mumbled as she handed one of Chazz's cards. It had flown to her feet.

He stared at her suspiciously. "For what?"

"I saw Rishou, but didn't register him. I thought he was after something else. Vaemon was just beside me and I thought Rishou was aiming for him."

"Oh."

"So, er, looks like you finally figured the digivice out," Suzy noted hesitantly.

"Sort of."

"Well, uh, I think I better see if Henry is okay. Syrus too," added Suzy as she walked away.

Chazz stared at the digivice in his hands, then back at the retreating Tamer. "Suzy, wait!"

She turned back, looking confused. "What?"

He held out his digivice. "Could you...could you help me with this?" he rambled.

* * *

Yazuki banged his hand against the stone wall desperatly. "Let us out!" he yelled. 

"Great. That stupid Digimon tricked us," snarled Rika, "and we're stuck here, doing absolutely _nothing._"

"Easy, Wildcat. We'll be able to think of something," Ryo answered, searching the room for a way out. "Cyberdramon, try to break this wall down. It seems weaker."

"He's already tried to break down the walls," Rika snapped in irritation.

"Not this one," Ryo replied. "Go for it."

Cyberdramon charged and crashed into the opposing wall. It shook for a while, but stayed steady. A voice came from the other side.

"Look, I know you're irritated at being caught--I am too--but that doesn't mean you need to bang on the walls every few seconds."

Yazuki whirled around and faced the wall. "Meinumon?"

"...Yazuki?"

* * *

Akuonimon glared. "_You **failed?**_

Rishou hastily bowed even lower. "A Digimon interrupted the battle and the battle, along with the Digimon, went out of control."

_"That is no excuse."_

"Sorry. I'll try again--" Rishou began when Akuonimon cut him off.

_"There is no need for you to try again. I gave you a simple task. You failed it. Kobunmon brought Yazuki and other Tamers today. And he wasn't even _ordered _to."_ Akuonimon's voice held no mercy.

Rishou flinched. "But..." he began once again.

"Let _me_ try," someone cut in.

Rishou glared at his rival. "Bug off," he hissed.

_"Very well_," Akuonimon rumbled, "_and see to it that you don't fail. It will be embarrasing if **two**_ _Assasins fail."_

"Yes, sir." The other Assasin stood up and strode out, his Digimon partner tailing behind him.

* * *

**TBC**

**The Digital Gate:** Was the duel posted correctly? I can't remember Chazz's deck that well. And sorry that Rika says, "Stupid." I couldn't think of anything else.


	7. Assasin Two: Karou

**The Digital Gate:** Thanks for your reviews.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

* * *

"No, not like that!" Suzy shouted. She had been trying to teach the duelist-turned-Tamer how to use combinations correctly using Duel Monsters cards on his digivice as they walked and it wasn't going well. The only result was that both Chazz and Suzy were getting irritated towards each other. 

"Then how am I supposed to do it?" roared Chazz in response. He was nearly twitching in frustration.

"Like _this!_"

"What's the difference?"

"Why can't you tell?"

Up ahead, Henry let out a groan. "They've been arguing for over an hour..."

"It's a wonder that their throats aren't hoarse," Lopmon added from his place on the ground. Being on top of Suzy's head meant that he could hear her and Chazz bellowing at each other and Lopmon wasn't sure he could take that. His ears most likely couldn't.

"Amazing," Terriermon agreed.

"I heard that!" Suzy yelled. Terriermon flinched.

Syrus looked slightly nervous. "H-henry? Won't other Digimon hear them?"

"Probably," Henry replied.

"Who couldn't?" Terriermon muttered. A rock was thrown at his head in response. "Ow!"

Suzy bounced another rock on her palm. "That's what you get."

"Hey! Are you going to teach me how to do the right combinations or not?" demanded Chazz.

"It's impossible to! You're _hopeless!_" Suzy snapped.

"Is that a good thing?" Ojama Yellow inquired.

"No!" Suzy shouted in response.

"Could you two be quiet? I'm getting a headache," Vaemon moaned. He was sitting on Chazz's head and unlike Lopmon, Vaemon had originally thought that his partner and Suzy would eventually stop yelling. "And I'm hungry," the Digimon added.

"Whatever," Suzy grumbled.

Chazz stuffed his digivice into his pocket in digust. _Out of all the Tamers here, I had to choose Suzy... It's not like I had a choice, but still... Why couldn't someone else teach me how?_ "Chazz..." Vaemon broke his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"I'm hungry."

"Fine," Chazz relented and turned to Suzy. "Can I have some food?"

She glared at him before reaching into her bag and pulling out an orange. "Here," Suzy muttered, tossing it at him.

He caught it and stared at the fruit. "Do I have to peel it?"

"Yes."

"I'll eat it, peel and all," Vaemon volunteered.

"Here." Chazz handed the orange to him. Vaemon greedily gobbled it up, dripping juice into Chazz's hair in the process. "Hey!" Chazz complained as Suzy snickered.

"Quiet!" Henry suddenly hissed. Everyone froze. Even Terriermon didn't move. "Someone or something is up ahead."

"Who?" Syrus whispered.

Henry redirected his flashlight's beam in response. It hit a human leg. Vaemon choked on his orange.

"That's...not a cut-off leg, is it?" Suzy frowned. "It looks like it's still attached.

"Maybe," Henry mumbled, bringing his flashlight up. This time a boy with pale skin was revealed; he was sprawled out, looking unconcious. Vaemon sighed in relief. "What's another human doing here?"

The boy stirred. "Wha?" he mumbled. Stray jet-black locks of hair fell over half-lidded eyes. He blinked, revealing dark-brown eyes. Strangely enough, like Rishou, he had a cape as well, except it was purple and more like a cloak. His brown shirt was mangled up and his tan pants were smeared with dirt. Silver boots covered his feet and a white wristband donned his right wrist.

"Is he okay?" asked Syrus, unsure of whether to stay back or check on the boy.

Suzy frowned. "I think so. Maybe I should kick him..."

"I wouldn't do that," Lopmon put in. The boy suddenly groaned and slowly sat up. He stared, blinking, at the small group.

"Who are you?"

Henry stepped in. "Answer this first: Why are you here?"

The boy shrugged. "I don't know. I was just playing my computer and suddenly I was sucked in. Out of nowhere, some guy called 'Rishou' attacks me and next thing I know, you all appear in front of me."

"Really?" Terriermon asked doubtfully. "From the way Rishou acted, which, I might add, was rude, he didn't seem like he would attack non-Digidestend."

"What's a Digidestend?"

Henry beamed his flashlight around for a second before re-focusing it on the boy. _No one else is here..._ "I'll explain later. But for now, what's your name?"

"I'm Karou Yoshimoto," the boy replied. "And how come the wacky bunny's talking?"

"I am _not_ wacky! You're wacky! I'm not the one who's just sitting there like a complete dope!" Terriermon shot back.

Suzy kicked him. "Be nice," she warned.

"That hurt!"

"It was supposed to."

Karou stood up. "Who are you?" he asked again.

"Henry Wong. My sister, Suzy is the one who kicked the 'wacky bunny'. Chazz Princeton is the one with black hair; Syrus is the one with blue. As for Terriermon, Lopmon, and Vaemon, I'll explain later," answered Henry. "But for now, let's get moving."

A bright flash appeared as Vaemon, once again, started to glow. When the evolution was complete, a larger Digimon was plopped on Chazz's head. Vaemon's Rookie form was a white like a griffin with larger wings. This time, however, he had a beak. Black, jagged stripes decorated his back and wings.

"You're heavy..." Chazz groaned.

"My name isn't Heavy! It's Aairlmon!" Vaemon's Rookie form complained.

"I don't care! You're still heavy!"

"Deal with it," Suzy told him. Her bag was starting to feel uncomfortable on her shoulder so the Tamer began adjusting it. As she struggled with her pack, something crossed over Karou's face. Suzy paused. _Did he just glare at Chazz? Or was it Vaemon? Or both? Or am I just imagining things?_

"Come on, Suzy!" Henry called. "Hurry up!"

"Coming!" Suzy called back.

* * *

"Is there a way to get back to the human world?" Kaoru asked. He and Suzy had been chatting for the past hour and were walking next to each other. Chazz was busy dropping his cards and unintentionally hurting Aairlmon. 

"Don't think so," Suzy replied. "And by the way, I still don't believe your story."

Karou froze for a second before regaining himself. "It's true," he insisted. "And--hey, shouldn't we be going that way?" He pointed in the opposite direction of where they had just turned. Henry had turned left and Karou was pointing right.

Suzy stared at him suspiciously. "No. Why? And I thought you've never been in the Digital World before," she accused him.

"No, I just thought that we were going the wrong way, that's all," Karou replied. He stared straight ahead. "I'm getting tired, though. Can we make camp?"

"I'll ask Henry," Suzy answered, frowning. She turned and headed towards her brother.

Karou sighed in relief. _It's almost been 5 years since I gave something away by accident. And it's been 7 years since someone's caught me off-guard. Luckily I didn't show it... Who _is _she?_

"He said it was okay," Suzy told him as she returned, momentarily startling Karou. He cursed. Suzy was scaring him one too many times.

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

"No problem," Suzy replied, but she was still staring at him suspiciously.

Twenty minutes later, they were all curled up and sleeping peacefully. It seemed as if settling down and resting had been the right idea after all. Suzy and Henry were sleeping back-to-back; Lopmon and Terriermon were doing the same thing.

Syrus was sprawled out next to the dim fire with the Ojama brothers next to him. Chazz was alone with Aairlmon sleeping on his chest. The Digimon's tail kepy brushing against Chazz's nose.

Karou rose slowly. When he was sure that no one was awake or listening, he slowly walked towards where Chazz was. Light flashed on.

Like a deer caught in the headlights, Karou stood, squinting, at the flashlight. Since the device was aimed at him, he couldn't make out the person who was holding it.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Suzy?"

"Yes, it's me," Suzy snapped impatiently. "Now, explain what you're doing, _now_."

Something rustled next to her. "He's either trying to capture or delete Chazz and Aairlmon," Henry explained. "After all, isn't that was Assasins do?"

Karou seethed. _How did _he _know? If Rishou hears about this, he'll never stop bugging..._ When he glanced at the two siblings, Suzy had her doubts.

"How do you know for sure?"

"First of all, what're the chances of a human coming to the Digital World at this time? Akuonimon's blocked off most of the portals. It's a miracle that Yazuki found one. Not only that, but," Henry continued, "how was it that we found Karou? He was right in our path, too. With Chazz and Suzy yelling at each other, it wouldn't be hard to find us.

"Your clothes bear a resemblence to Rishou's, and you mentioned him. What Terriermon said earlier was right. Rishou's job as an Assasin is to eliminate the two new Tamers and digi-eggs. That's what he said, anyway.

"Why would he attack you? And, whenever we were walking, you pointed off in a new direction, most likely where you hid a trap. My guess is that you're," Henry paused, studying Karou, "an Assasin yourself. Rishou is your rival. Am I right?"

Karou stared for a moment before smirking. "So you finally figured it out. Looks like I can drop my act now."

"He's an Assasin?" Syrus gasped. He and Chazz had just woken up to hear Karou's confession.

"Yup. Now wake Aairlmon. It's time to fight," Karou replied, raising a whistle to his lips and blowing. A big thud was heard and something landed in front of the group. "Meet my partner, Taongmon."

Henry brought his flashlight out and clicked it on. A dragon Digimon stood in front of them, Karou resting on its head.

Purple scales covered the Digimon's body. Two green eyes stared down as Taongmon snorted. Plumes of smoke curled from the Digimon's nostrils, momentarily envoloping the group.

"Why's he so big?" Ojama Green squeaked.

"He's in Champion form," Karou answered. He turned his gaze towards Chazz. "Now wake your Digimon so we can get this over with."

"Wait!" Suzy suddenly exclaimed. Everyone turned to her in suprise. "Let me and Lopmon fight you instead." Lopmon bobbed his head in agreement.

Karou frowned. "Why?"

"If I win, you leave us alone. If _you_ win, Lopmon and I will stay back and let you do whatever you want."

Chazz stared at her. "What kind of stakes are _those?"_

"Hm..." Karou stared at Suzy. "Alright."

"What?" Henry nearly shouted. "You think I'll let you?"

"Just let me," Suzy mumbled.

Henry was about to object then changed his mind when he saw her expression. "Fine. Just..just be careful."

"I will," Suzy promised. She and Lopmon stepped forward a few feet and Suzy stored her flashlight away and slipped the bag off. "Let's go," she declared.

"You got it," Karou replied.

"GO!"

* * *

**TBC**

**The Digital Gate:** Er...should there be more Assasins known by name?


	8. Assasin Three: Yukimi

**The Digital Gate:** Thanks for your reviews and I didn't notice the 'ou' thing. Taongmon really does sound like Taomon. His name is actually prounounced 'Tah-ONG-mon' or something of that sort.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

* * *

Karou made the first move. He did it so quickly that Suzy had barely enough time to bat an eye. "Digi-Modify! Infernal Power Activate!" 

Taongmon leaped forward. "Fire's Rebirth!"

Suzy blinked. "Huh?"

"Eliminating Flames!"

The two flames clashed with each other, leaving Lopmon and his Tamer staring at the fire. "What's..going on?" Lopmon finally asked.

"Uh..." was all Suzy could manage. "I think someone interrupted our fight..."

"Rishou! What are you _doing?_" Karou shouted. "Akuonimon said that--"

"I don't care what that old bugger says!" the intruder roared back. "This Tamer is _my_ bait, so back off!"

Karou rolled his eyes. "In case you haven't noticied, Rishou, the Tamer I'm fighting isn't Aairlmon's Tamer."

"What? Daiyoumon, stop for a second," Rishou ordered, glancing down. Daiyoumon obeyed his given order and snapped his mouth shut. Suzy stared up at Rishou and gave a small wave.

"Uh...hi?" she offered.

"Can someone explain what's going on?" Syrus complained, glancing from Rishou to Karou. "I don't know what's going on."

"You're not the only one," mumbled Lopmon under his breath.

Karou leaped down folded his arms across his chest. "What're you two going here?" he asked.

"I came here to capture the Tamer and eliminate the Digimon," Rishou replied, copying Karou's motion.

"Good luck with that. Those two are _my_ bait," Karou retorted.

"Then why were you fighting with the girl?"

"Because she wouldn't let me get to the other two."

"Liar."

"You're the liar, traitor."

Frustrated, Rishou snapped, "_You're_ the traitor."

Karou hesitated for a second before replying: "Let's just settle this with a fight, okay? Winner gets to take on the Tamer." He was equally frustrated.

"Stop calling me 'Tamer'! My name is _Chazz!_ Got it?" Chazz yelled. Rishou and Karou both ignored him. "Hey! Are you listening?"

"Don't worry boss. We listen to you," Ojama Yellow grinned.

"Let's go," Rishou agreed.

"What happened to our battle?" Lopmon wondered aloud. "And anyone besides me confused?"

"You were replaced," Henry told him. "And you're not the only one."

"Should we make a run for it?" Ojama Black piped up.

Henry frowned. "I don't think so... Let's just stay here and see what happens."

* * *

A figure was leaning against a stone window. Moonlight beamed through it, which happened very rarely, and cast a shadow upon the ground. 

Footsteps echoed and another person joined the first. "What're you doing here?"

"I could as you the same question."

The second person gazed out the window. "Popular answer. By the way, have you seen Rishou?"

A snort. "Why would I care about that little brat?"

"He's not a brat!" the other answered indignantly. "And besides, how could you say that about? We're all Assasins, and we're all in this together."

"Yes, but we don't have to like each other. Look at Karou and Rishou. They fight daily."

"Yes, but still--"

The sentence was cut off. "But nothing. Assasins aren't supposed to like anyone."

"Says you."

"Exactly."

"Hmph." The second person straightened up.

"Pout all you want. It never works on me."

The second figure paused in the moonlight, tucking a strand of long brown hair behind her ear. She smirked. "Don't I know it. Stay here if you want. _I'm_ looking for Rishou."

"Be my guest." The person glanced out the window, a stray strand of pale blond hair against his face.

* * *

"Attack his left!" Rishou shouted from his perch on Daiyoumon's head. 

Daiyoumon quickly doubled back and re-aimed his claw towards Taongmon's left side.

"Avoid it!" Karou ordered. "Use Earthquake Tail _now_!"

"Earthquake Tail!" Taongmon called out immeadiatly, whipping his tail out and catching Daiyoumon in the face. The dinosaur Digimon fell backwards, nearly causing Rishou to topple off.

"What're you doing?" snapped Rishou. "Focus!"

"Yes, sir," Daiyoumon mumbled, getting to his feet.

"Hah! Your partner not listening?" Karou taunted. "Pathetic!"

Rishou glowered at him. "_You're_ the one who's pathetic!"

A couple of feet behind him, Suzy asked, "How much longer do we need to watch them?"

"Honestly," Chazz complained, "all they do is attack and argue, attack and argue."

"Sounds like you and Jaden," Suzy muttered.

"You wish!"

"How much longer are they gonna fight?" Aairlmon piped up as his partner and Suzy began yelling at each other.

"Who? Chazz and Suzy or Karou and Rishou?" Henry wanted to know.

Aairlmon paused. "Both," he finally decided.

Henry shrugged. "Don't know." Daiyoumon suddenly skidded to a stop near them, bringing their attention back to the fight. Rishou had fallen off and was yelling at Daiyoumon.

"Earthquake Tail!" Taongmon shouted, charging ahead. Daiyoumon, struggling to his feet, gazed ahead instead of counter-attacking. Karou smirked.

"I win."

"Dancing Pitch!" Suddenly, a melody burst out into the darkness. Taongmon froze, unable to move.

Karou whirled around glared at an unseen person. "Yukimi! What was that for?"

A giggle was heard. "I couldn't let you hurt my boyfriend, could I?"

"Boyfriend?" Suzy repeated blankly, forgetting to snap back a remark. "Rishou has a girlfriend?"

"No, I don't," Rishou snapped. "She just _wants_ me to be her boyfriend." He turned to his left. "Yukimi! Get out of there and show yourself!"

"If you say so." A girl, looking around the age of 15, emerged. Like Karou, she wore a dark-red cloak around her shoulders but it hung down to her waist instead of to the ground. A blood-red sash was wrapped around her black tunic and hung down her brown jeans. Her green eyes were piercing and her brown hair was tied into a ponytail.

She glanced behind Rishou and frowned. "Who're _they?_"

"Weren't you paying attention to Akuonimon?" Rishou rolled his eyes. "They're the group that we're supposed to get rid of. Especially the one with a griffin on his head. His Tamer is the one with black hair. And apparantly, one of them has the other egg as well."

"I see." Yukimi glared at Suzy and stalked up to her. Suzy involuntary took a step back. "Anyway, I'm Yukimi Tsunemoto," Yukimi told her, "and no girl can talk to Rishou except _me_. Got that?"

"Obssessed groupie," Suzy muttered under her breath. _Ugh...she's got perfume on..._

Yukimi frowned. "What was that?" she threatened.

"Nothing," Suzy quickly replied.

"I thought so. And in case you don't listen and decide to talk to Rishou, let me introduce my partner, Aikomon." Yukimi took a step back and whistled.

A dove-like Digimon soared out of nowhere and landed on Yukimi's shoulder. Aikomon was pure-white in color with violet eyes. Black markings decorated the Digimon's wings.

"So," Yukimi stated simply, "no talking to Rishou. I'm an Assasin as well, so I can easily defeat you."

Suzy moved away. "Who'd want to? It's not like he's the most wonderful person on earth. Even if he was, I still wouldn't want to talk to him. Besides, he's a brat."

"Good." Yukimi turned around when something flashed in her mind. _Hang on...Did that freak just call Rishou a brat? Sure, _he _might have called Rishou that, too, but he calls everyone a brat._ "Wait...what did you say about Rishou?"

"He's a brat."

"Take that back!" Yukimi shouted, launching herself onto an unexpected Suzy.

Suzy quickly sidestepped and Yukimi crashed into the ground. She lay there for a few seconds, fuming quietly.

"She really is an obssessed groupie," Chazz noted. Since he had been near Suzy due to their shouting match he had heard her comment.

Suzy glanced back at him. "The way you are with Alexis?"

"Yes. Wait, I mean--" Chazz began but Suzy was already snickering. "Stop that!"

"Hey! Don't forget about me!" Yukimi stood up angrily, brushing herself off. "Take back what you said about Rishou!"

Suzy ignored her. "Is she always this way about you?" she asked Rishou who looked bored.

He shrugged. "Unfortunately. Usually she's more composed than this."

A hand suddenly struck Suzy and she fell to the ground. Henry took a step forward before Chazz stopped him. "But.." Henry began.

"She has to grow up sometime," Chazz replied.

"Since when do you speak like that?" Henry asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Chazz shrugged as Suzy began to stir. She sat up and winced. "Huh?"

Yukimi towered above her. "Only I can talk to Rishou, remember?"

"Forgot," Suzy replied simply, standing up.

Yukimi gritted her teeth. "Aikomon!" she suddenly shouted. The bird Digimon took off of Yukimi's shoulder and spun into the air. Yukimi brought out a black-and-red digivice along with a card.

"Digi-Modify! Digivolution Activate!" she called out.

Aikomon's wings enfolded herself and grew her body grew bigger as the evolution completed itself. "Aikomon digivolve to..." A white falcon with a black beak and green eyes hovered above them. "Tsukomon."

"Attack!" Yukimi shrieked hysterically, pointing.

"Spiraling Beak!" Tsukomon called out, diving downwards while spinning at the same time. Her target: Suzy--who was unfortunately staring instead of dodging.

Henry panicked once again. He reached for a Modify card even though he knew it was too late. "Suzy! Move!"

"Too late," Yukimi grinned.

"Uh-oh..." Suzy finally came to her senses and gulped.

"Teleporting Flames!"

Tsukomon hit the ground a split second after Suzy vanished. She wasn't the only one. Lopmon, Henry, Terriermon, Chazz, Syrus, Aarilmon, and the Ojama brothers had disappeared as well.

"Where did they go?" Yukimi wondered, spinning around.

"Don't bother looking for them," Rishou spoke. "There's only one Digimon who has an attack like that."

"Who?"

"Taongmon."

* * *

Syrus blinked. "Where are we?" He glanced around. _A cave..?_ "And wasn't Suzy supposed to have gotten hit by that falcon-thing?" 

"Thanks," Suzy said sarcastically from behind him. She was trapped inside a hug from her older brother.

"Don't scare me like that again," Henry warned, letting go.

"Yes, sir," Suzy answered meekly.

"What happened?" Ojama Green wondered.

"We got saved, apparantly," Lopmon answered. "By..." He paused. "Uh..."

Suzy stared ahead. "We got saved...by Karou," she finished.

"What?" Everyone else whirled around to see what Suzy was staring at. Karou stood in the entrance of the cave. No one noticied a small dragon slipping out of the cave.

Karou gave a small, weak smile. "Yup."

* * *

**TBC**

**The Digital Gate:** Was Yukimi a Mary-Sue? I tried not to make her one but is she?


	9. Betrayer

**The Digital Gate:** Thanks for your reviews.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX or Digimon.

* * *

"Akuonimon!" Rishou called, tearing through the castle. "Akuonimon!" He paused in front of an entrance, panting. 

"_What is it?_" Akuonimon snapped, looking annoyed.

Rishou hastily dropped onto one knee. "It's Karou. He's betrayed us."

* * *

"_Karou?_" Chazz leaped to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at the Assasin. "What're you doing here? Planning to trap us? Well it won't work." 

Karou held us his hands and took a step back. "No, I'm not trying to trap you," he began.

"Then what're you going to do? Fry us?" Suzy snapped.

"No, I..."

"You're going to do the hokey-pokey?" Terriermon suggested.

"Terriermon, cut it out! And as for the rest of you, let Karou speak," ordered Henry. Suzy stared at her brother in stunned silence before snapping her mouth shut.

Henry turned to Karou. "Better make it quick," he advised.

"I will," Karou promised. "Look, the thing is...I'm..."

* * *

"...a traitor?" Yazuki repeated. 

"That's right," replied Meinumon from the other cell. "Karou's sort of a spy. The other Assasins don't know yet, I think, but Akuonimon is catching on."

"So one of the Assasins is a traitor," Ryo mused. "Interesting."

Rika had her doubts. "Are you sure?"

"Plenty," Meinumon replied. "He tried to free me once. However, another Assasin came in and he had to stop."

"Really? Which one?" Jaden piped up.

"I don't know. He had pale blond hair though. And from what I've heard, he's the strongest Assasin."

* * *

"How can we trust you?" Suzy asked. "You've explained everything except your intentions." 

"My intentions are my buisness," Karou snapped.

"And who I trust is also my buisness," Suzy retorted.

"Enough you two," interjected Henry. "We'll have to trust him for now."

Chazz scowled. "For _now._"

Henry shot him a look and turned to Suzy. "You okay from what happened with Yukimi?"

"I'm fine."

"Your clothes aren't," Syrus pointed out.

Suzy glanced down and blinked. "When did they get so dirty?" Her shirt was smeared with dirt and her jeans were ripped.

"Who cares?" Karou grumbled.

"Not you," Suzy muttered. "Or me."

Henry fished out a small square. "Here."

Suzy stared at it. "You brought a change of clothes?"

"In case you threw up and got your current ones dirty," Henry replied simply. "Now go and change." When Suzy didn't move he added, "_Now_."

Suzy glowered at him and snatched the clothes. "Fine," she grumbled. "Big brothers," she added under her breath.

Five minutes later she came back wearing a white shirt with a grey striped shortsleeve jacket over it. Suzy tugged at her dark blue jeans. "These are too loose," she complained.

"You look ridiculous," noted Karou.

"It's not like you look any better," Suzy shot back.

"Want to bet?"

"How much?"

Lopmon watched them banter. "You know...they kind of seem like Chazz and Suzy."

"Karou even has black hair," Aairlmon mused.

"I think we've just found a replacement for Chazz," Terriermon exclaimed. "And," the rabbit-like Digimon added, "he's much better looking."

"Hey!" Chazz shouted.

"Yeah!" Ojama Yellow shouted. "No one replaces boss!"

Henry groaned. "Cut it out."

"Fine," Suzy grumped.

"Whatever," Karou muttered.

Henry sat down and gestured for everyone else to do the same. When they had all settled, he asked: "Karou, if you really are on our side, mind telling us about the Assasins?"

Karou, who had seated himself as far from Suzy as possible, eyed them all warily. "The Assasin group was started by Akuonimon not long ago. The first member was Rishou. The second was Yukimi and the third was me.

"I stumbled into Akuonimon's castle by a complete accident and Rishou met me. He challeneged me to a battle and if I won, Rishou would show me the way out. If _he_ won...well, he didn't say. My partner, Ryuudamon, fought as best as he could but Daiyoumon defeated him.

"Rishou brought me to Akuonimon who, after much decision, made me the third Assasin. Ryuudamon was taken away from me and I was given Hidrakemon, Taongmon's Rookie form, as a partner instead.

"The last Assasin is Akuonimon's apprentice and was raised by Akuonimon since he was a baby," Karou continued. "His name is--"

"Hate to interupt," Henry cut in, "but where _is_ Hidrakemon?"

Karou blinked. "Huh? What do you mean? Hidrakemon is right..." He trailed off, glancing around.

"Here," a voice supplied as a small dragon with yellow scales slipped beside Karou.

"Meet Hidrakemon. You've met Taongmon though so I suppose it really doesn't matter..."

Henry glanced at Hidrakemon suspiciously before turning to Karou. "Could you show us to Akuonimon's castle? I've got a feeling that we're needed there."

Karou's eyes lit up. "That reminds me. Some of your friends are being held in the castle."

"_What?_" Suzy's face held an astonished look. "Who?"

"Er...their name's are Yazuki, Rika, Ryo, Alexis, and Jaden, I think," Karou replied. "Oh, and a Digimon called Meinumon is there, too. I tried to let him out once, but got caught."

"Jaden's there? Aw, man. This is bad." Syrus clutched at his head.

Chazz panicked. _Alexis is there? With the slacker? That can't be good. I need to get there as fast as I can and rescue my dear Alexis._ He was facing the wall with his fists clenched. _Yes, that's what I'll do--I'll rescue Alexis!_

Henry stood up. "That settles it," he announced. "Lead us to Akuonimon's castle."

"I was about to anyway," answered Karou.

Minutes later, Antylamon and Taongmon were in the mouth of the cave. Suzy eyed them both doubtfully. "Are you sure they'll be able to carry us all?"

"Unless Chazz gets his digivice to work and manages to make Aairlmon digivolve into his Champion form, we're stuck with two Digimon to carry us," Henry replied. Everyone turned to Chazz who promptly panicked.

"Why's everyone staring at me?"

"Come on, boss!" Ojama Green told him. "You can do it!"

"We believe in you!" Ojama Black added.

"And," Ojama Yellow added, "if you manage it, I'll give you a big hug and kiss!"

Chazz made a face. "I don't want one."

"I'll stop calling you a doofus," Suzy offered. "Really," she added as Chazz glanced at her skeptically.

"Fine. I'll try it," Chazz grumbled.

"Do you think he can do it?" Syrus asked.

"Who knows?" Karou replied.

Chazz scanned his cards, unable to find the right combination. Finally he chose two and, placing one face-down, swiped the other one.

Aairlmon, still on Chazz's head, took on a shining glow. "Did he do it?" Suzy wondered.

"Who knows?" Karou repeated. "We'll just have to wait."

"Aairlmon digivolve to...Touhimon!" Aairlmon wings doubled in size, along with his body. His feathers were a pure white, decorated with splashes of black. His eyes were a bright purple and they stared ahead. On his chest was a symbol that matched a much smaller one on his forehead. Touhimon's orange beak hung over Chazz's shoulder and his tail lashed in anticipation.

Chazz promptly collapsed. "You're heavy," he croaked.

"Oops." Touhimon backed away. "Sorry."

As Chazz brushed himself off, Suzy watched him. "Looks like I can't call you doofus anymore," she noted before breaking into a grin. "Good job."

Chazz flushed slightly. "Er...thanks..." _Since when does Suzy of all people smile and compliment me?_

"Let's get going," Karou ordered.

Suzy climbed onto Antylamon's right shoulder with her brother on the left shoulder. Syrus seated himself behind Karou and the Ojama brothers plopped onto Touhimon's head.

Ojama Yellow turned around. "I almost forgot!" he chirped. "One big hug and kiss for you!"

"Wait! I don't want-!" Chazz began when Ojama Yellow, ignoring his words, hugged Chazz at the neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Get off of me!"

Suzy, trying to keep a straight face, asked, "Shouldn't we be going now?"

"Lead the way Karou," Henry directed. Unlike Suzy, he was smiling and no move to try and hide it.

* * *

"Over here," Karou whispered. He was flat against a wall and was beckoning towards the rest of the group. 

Suzy dodged towards him. "Why do we have to sneak around? It's not like this place is bright or anything," she complained.

"People can still hear you," hissed Lopmon, joining his Tamer. "Do you want to rescue the others or not?"

"But do we have to do it while sneaking around?" Terriermon asked loudly.

"SHHHHHHH!" Karou hissed.

"_You_ shhhhhhh," Terriermon retorted.

"Terriermon, just cut it out," Henry warned.

"What? Are you going to send Ms. Pretty Pants on me? Just in case you haven't noticied, she's more grown up now," Terriermon shot back.

"Ms. Pretty Pants? Who's that?" Chazz wanted to know as Suzy flushed. "Wait..it's _Suzy?_"

Suzy flushed again. "Actually, I called Terriermon that when I was younger. Now Terriermon's calling me that."

"You're _kidding_," Karou groaned.

Syrus reached them. "What is it?"

"They've changed the cells," Karou answered. "Now we have to find them..."

"So you're saying that you don't know where they are?" Suzy nearly screamed. "I can't take much more of this tiptoeing and this whispering!"

"SSHH!" everyone hissed at her.

"Come on," Karou ordered, dashing off.

"Great," Suzy muttered, following him, "more playing Sneaky Sneak. What joy."

Henry shoved his sister lightly. "Just go."

"Ah. I've found them." After a few more minutes, Karou took off to his right and slipped into an entrance. He turned and jerked his head. Henry slipped in only to be greeted by shouts of amazement.

"_Henry?_"

"Does this mean Suzy is near?"

"Hey, why's an Assasin with him?"

"Does that mean he's a captive?"

"Hang on. He's the one that tried to get me out of this godforsaken cage."

"Watch your language, Meinumon."

"Quiet," Henry ordered. "Someone will hear."

Suzy stepped in. "Seriously. I could hear you guys loud and clear from outside."

"Suzy's there too?"

"Wow, did everyone get caught?"

"Quiet!" Karou snapped, fumbling with the cage's lock. "Dang it. A little help?" Something whizzed by and Karou jumped. "What the-?"

"So you've come, Karou," a cold voice cut in.

Karou spun around. "You!"

"Me."

"How did you know we were here?" Karou demanded.

"It was easy. Anyone could hear you."

Karou glared at Suzy. "Told you to be quiet."

"Terriermon was talking too," Suzy snapped.

"Enough of this. Karou, Akuonimon wants to have a word with you." The voice sounded bored.

"Like I want to talk to the old geezer," Karou replied, his eyes narrowing into slits.

Jaden appeared from behind the metal bars. "What's going on?"

"Jaden!" Syrus exclaimed.

"Oh. Hey, Syrus. What're you doing here?"

"Getting you out of this mess."

"Hate to break it to you, but there's no way you'll get out of this." A pale boy stepped from the shadows. His pale-blond hair was tied back and hung down his dark-purple longsleeve shirt. His dark-green pants hung over his black boots and a white leather glove donned his right hand.

Alexis stepped next to Jaden. "How can you be so sure?"

Green eyes flashed. "I'll make sure of it."

"Who _are_ you?" Terriermon demanded.

"Me? I'm the final Assasin you'll ever meet. I'm the strongest Assasin you'll ever meet. I'm Kasumi."

* * *

**TBC**

**The Digital Gate:** Anybody have an idea on a Digimon name? I'm stuck.


	10. The Betrayer Betrayed

**The Digital Gate:** Thanks for your reviews and Digimon names. All of them will be used.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

* * *

"Kasumi?" Suzy repeated. "You don't look like much to me. And why are you so pale?" She paused for a second before continuing, "And what's with the brag--mmph!" 

Karou had hastily slapped a hand over Suzy's mouth and was now speaking. "Look Kasumi, I was just putting these other Tamers into the cage."

"Don't bother with the lies," snapped Kasumi. "Everyone knows that you're a traitor. It's too late."

"In that case, Hidrakemon, stall him long enough--wait, where's Hidrakemon?" Karou glanced around frantically.

Kasumi's lip curled into a cold smirk. "You forget. Hidrakemon was given to you by Akuonimon. There's no _way_ he'd listen to you." As if to prove Kasumi's point, Hidrakemon appeared by the Necromancer's apprentice's legs.

Karou winced as Kasumi continued, "You've got no one to help you now, Karou. You might as well give it up."

"Wrong," Jaden cut in. "He's got us."

"Huh?" Karou blinked.

"Right after I get out of here, just you wait!" Jaden rattled the bars furiously. "Help?"

Suzy watched him for a second before digging into her bag. She pulled out the egg and studied it. Kasumi caught sight of it and shouted, "Give that to me!"

"Eh?" Suzy looked up only to back away. "Er...no thanks."

"That was an order," Kasumi snarled. Suzy froze.

Henry, sensing what his sister was thinking, grabbed a card. "Digi-Modify! Heavy Metal Activate!"

"Woah!" Terriermon nearly fell over as a piece of armor was attached to his arm. "Back away!" he warned, firing a blast. A hole appeared in the cell as Yazuki charged out, followed by Meinumon.

"Jaden! Catch!" Suzy shouted, chucking the egg at the Slifer.

"What?" Jaden stared as the egg made an arc. "Okay, but why?" No sooner had the egg made contact with the duelist when it began to glow. "Huh?"

Chazz stared in shock. "_He's_ the other Tamer? No way!"

"Ikarimon! Stop him! Destroy the egg!" Kasumi yelled. A whistle was heard and a small bird-like Digimon shot from nowhere, heading straight for Jaden, but was already too late.

A brown Digimon with two floppy ears and ruby eyes was in Jaden hands. "Aiya," it squeaked. Jaden stared at it in response as a rectangle-shape made its way into his pocket.

Kasumi had covered his eyes and was in shock. Karou took note of it and ordered, "Let's get out of here!"

"Don't have to tell me twice," Ryo muttered as they ran out.

"So now what?" Syrus panted.

"We get out of here," Karou replied.

"_How?_" Suzy nearly shrieked. "Jaden's still staring at Aiyamon, you're missing your Digimon partner, I don't think Chazz can pull off a way to make Aairlmon digivolve again, we've got an apprentice after us, and--"

"AND YOU TALK TOO MUCH!" Karou bawled into her face. "Can't you see I'm trying to think?"

"Then you'd better think _faster!_" Suzy yelled back, no longer running.

"I don't see _you_ trying!" Karou screamed. He face was slowly turning purple. Everyone else stopped to watch.

Henry stepped towards them slowly. "I think we should settle this later," he began. Suzy and Karou both ignored him. Henry was about to speak again when he heard something.

"I've had _enough_ of you!" roared Karou. "I try to help you _once_ and you get all touchy. Can't you bite your tongue for once?"

"Quiet!" Henry hissed as Suzy opened her mouth to make a retort. "Both of you."

Karou and Suzy glared at each other before turning away.

"What is it?" Lopmon asked.

"I heard something. Follow me." Henry set off into a different direction, his flashlight ahead of him. Soon enough, the beam landed on a square stone cage. Something inside moved.

"Get away," it hissed from inside. "Now."

Karou frowned. _This voice...it sounds...familiar..._

"Terriermon?" Henry turned to his partner. "Think you can break it?"

Terriemron puffed out his chest proudly. "No problem."

"But I wanna break it," Aairlmon complained.

Henry glanced at the small Digimon and sighed. "Okay with you, Terriermon?"

Terriermon sulked. "Fine."

"Iron Wind!" Aairlmon squeaked happily.

The stone cage split, revealing a reptile-like Digimon wearing armor. It began backing away before its eyes settled Karou, who was looking equally shocked. The eyes widened.

"Karou!" The Digimon tackled the once-Assasin.

"Ryuudamon?"

"The one and only!"

"Hate to break up your reunion," Rika interrupted, "but can you show us the way out?"

Ryuudamon glanced at Karou for approval and when Karou nodded, Ryuudamon took off. "Follow me!" He paused. "Oh, and turn off those flashlights. You'll attract attention if you keep them on."

Henry grabbed Suzy. "You stay away from Karou. Got it? We don't need any more fights."

"Yeah, whatever," Suzy replied, her voice slightly hoarse.

* * *

"Hurry up!" Ryuudamon ordered. "We're almost out of the Necromancer's territory." The castle was getting steadily getting smaller in the distance. "We may be out of the castle, but we're still in his range." 

"Alright already," Yazuki snapped from beside him. "We get it already--woah!"

"What happened?" Henry shouted as 'argh', 'help!', and 'what on earth?' were heard. "What's going on--huh?"

"Henry?" Suzy asked. "What happened?"

"Don't come near!" Henry ordered. "None of you come here! There's a hole and it's protected by something that I can't make out."

"It's Akuonimon's specialty," Meinumon supplied dully. "It traps the intruder Digimon and prevents them from leaving. It's almost foolproof."

"Aw man," Syrus muttered from inside. "What will we do?"

"For starters, you can get off of me," Alexis replied.

"That's not Syrus," Terriermon told her. "That's me."

"Wait...so who's _not_ in the hole?" Ryuudamon asked.

"I'm not," Suzy answered.

"Neither am I," added Karou.

"I'm on Suzy," Lopmon cut in.

"And I'm on Chazz," Aairlmon put in.

"We're here," chorused the Ojama brothers.

"I'm not in the hole," Jaden supplied.

Karou frowned. "So let me get this straight. The people and Digimon who aren't in the hole are me, Ryuudamon, Suzy, Lopmon, Aairlmon, Chazz, the Ojama brothers, Jaden, and Aiyamon?"

"Actually, it's Chisanamon," Jaden corrected. "He digivolved, remember?"

"Which means Henry, Syrus, Yazuki, Meinumon, Alexis, Ryo, Rika, Renamon, Cyberdramon, and Terriermon are in the hole," Karou figured.

Terriermon, who had been shining Henry's flashlight around, called, "Right."

"Get that light out of my face," Rika snapped irritably.

Terriermon turned the device off and pouted. "Rude."

Suzy peered into the hole. "So now what?"

"You guys run," Henry answered. "I'll call Takato and get them to come. We'll be okay."

Lopmon yanked on Suzy's sleeve. "Let's go."

"...but remember last time? Henry got into a coma," complained Suzy.

"He won't this time," Lopmon told her. "I promise."

Suzy backed away reluctantly and stood up. "Are we going or not?"

"Follow me!" Ryuudamon cried again, dashing off.

"And stay away from Karou!" Henry called.

* * *

Jaden collapsed on to the ground. "No more running..." he panted. 

Ryuudamon glanced around anxiously. "But Kasumi and the others will be here soon."

"Come on Jaden," Suzy urged. "Just a little longer."

Jaden heaved himself up. "Fine..."

A brown furball with wings hovered next to him. "That's the spirit!"

Jaden stared at it. "I still can't help but think that you're Winged Kuriboh."

Karou frowned. "Wasn't Chisanamon just a furball with antennae? When did he get wings?"

"When he digivolved," Jaden replied. "Now he's Sephiremon."

"Guys, can we go now?" Ryuudamon pleaded.

"Yeah. Come on," Karou ordered the rest of them.

* * *

Alexis, Syrus, and Meinumon sat in the hole in complete silence. Henry, Terriermon, and Yazuki were searching for an exit. 

Yazuki plopped down. "Meinumon, could you lend a hand?"

Meinumon sighed. "Did you not hear me earlier? I said that the protection Akuonimon placed was _almost foolproof_."

Yazuki frowned before his eyes lighted up. "Do you know a way out?"

"Yes," Meinumon replied.

"Well can you hurry up?" Henry asked, joining them. "I just saw Kasumi pass by. At the speed he's going at, he'll reach Suzy and the others in no time."

"Right." Meinumon stood up, eyed the top, and leaped into the air, piecing the shield in the process. He jumped outside. "Let's go."

Everyone began scaling the dirt except for Terriermon. The Digimon stood on the ground, his eye twitching. "It was _that easy?_"

"Just get up here," Henry told him.

After everyone had climbed out, Alexis asked, "Now what?"

"We go and find Takato. He's leading the others here, so we should be able to meet him halfway," Henry replied. "Then we can go and find the others."

"I just hope the others will be alive when we find them," Yazuki muttered under his breath. No one else heard him.

* * *

"How much further?" groaned Jaden. 

"How should I know?" Suzy mumbled. "Ask what-his-face."

"It's Ryuudamon, for the last time!" Karou snapped.

Suzy was about to snap back at him, but remembered what Henry had told her. "Eh..you're not worth it." She turned away and stalked off.

"Look, come back here!" Karou snapped, running after her. As he did, his foot slipped and stepped on something with a crack. Karou paused. "Huh?"

Lights flickered on and the entire group squinted. "You took your time," Kasumi noted. He stood ahead of the group, with Rishou to his left and Yukimi to his right. Daiyoumon crouched nearby and Aikomon hung on Yukimi's shoulder. Taongmon watched from in the air.

Yukimi fixed her gaze on Suzy. "I've got a score to settle with you," she all but spat, her eyes narrowing.

Suzy inwardly groaned. _Not again..._

Rishou was busy staring at Chazz. "We meet again, Tamer."

"It's _Chazz!_" Aairlmon and Chazz both yelled.

Taongmon gazed at Ryuudamon before turning to Karou. "So you found him."

Karou gritted his teeth. "So what?"

"Akuonimon's given me an order to take both of you out," Taongmon replied.

"Bring it," Ryuudamon snapped.

"I guess that means I'm going against you," Jaden noted cheerily.

Kasumi frowned. "How can you be so happy?"

"Because I always feel this way before a duel!" replied Jaden.

"Duel?" Kasumi repeated.

"Yeah, you know. Duel Monsters. I'm not going to fight with Sephiremon. He's too small," Jaden answered. He pulled out his deck. "Let's go."

Kasumi considered him. "Duel Monsters? I suppose I can give it a shot." He turned to Rishou. "Lend me your deck."

Rishou tossed him it without glancing. His gaze was fixed on Chazz. "Time to finish the fight." He snapped his fingers and Daiyoumon appeared next to him.

"As long as you don't call me Tamer," Chazz snapped. Aairlmon sprung to his side.

Yukimi stepped in front of Suzy, her green eyes flashing dangerously. "Let's go. And this time, no teleporting away."

"That wasn't my fault," Suzy mumbled. "And when did I agree?"

Lopmon hopped down from her head. "Just do it."

"Fine."

Taongmon landed in front of Karou. "Let's go, betrayer."

"_You're_ the betrayer," Ryuudamon snapped.

"Ready?" Rishou smirked, his hand hovering above his Modify cards. "Three..." he counted. "Two.."

"One," Yukimi glared. She backed away a few paces, getting into a stance.

"Go!" Taongmon launched himself into the air, breathing fire.

"Duel!"

* * *

**TBC**

**The Digital Gate:** Credit goes to DigiShinka for Chisanamon and Ikarimon. Credit goes to Mizuumi13 for Sephiremon.


	11. Fights

**The Digital Gate:** Thanks for your reviews.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

* * *

"My move," announced Jaden as he drew a card. "And I'll start off with--" 

"Look," Kasumi interrupted, "I don't need you to tell me what you're doing and when. Just shut up and get on with it. _Silently_."

Jaden stared, shocked before turning to Sephiremon. "Wow. He's rude." Sephiremon chirped in agreement.

"Dancing Pitch!" Aikomon cried, opening her beak and sending a melody out.

"Not _again_," groaned Suzy as she was frozen into place. "Lopmon, try to see if you can fire an attack."

Lopmon nodded. "Blazing Ice!" Small crystallline bolts fired from his mouth succesfully.

Aikomon squawked in protest and soared out of the way.

"Hah!" Suzy burst out by accident, unable to contain herself. "Didn't expect--woah!"

Yukimi had launched herself at Suzy and unexpectedly slapped her across the face. "Hah yourself," the Assasin retorted.

"At least the attack's effect is gone," Suzy replied, raising a card. "Digi-Modify! Digivolution Activate!"

"Lopmon digivolve to...Turuiemon!" A purple rabbit stood in Lopmon's place. Turuiemon leaped forward. "Gauntlet Claw!"

Aikomon desperately weaved out of Turuiemon's claws, barely succeding. "Dancing..." she began when a claw came her way. The bird Digimon ducked and began again, "Dancing..."

"Lightning Kung-Fu!" Turuiemon shouted, aiming a kick at Aikomon's chest. The attack was well-aimed and Aikomon fell to the ground in a feathered lump.

"Aikomon! Get back up," Yukimi snapped. "Digi-Modify! Digivolution Activate!"

"Tsukomon," the falcon cawed, soaring into the sky and winging back. "Spiraling Beak!"

Turuiemon stood his ground, calcuating the distance between them. When Tsukomon was about five feet away, Turuiemon shouted, "Bunny Bombardment!"

Tsukomon was forced to pull out of her dive. She shrilled in pain and went down.

"What are you _doing?_!" Yukimi clutched fistfuls of her hair in frustration. "You're going to let a _bunny_ beat you?"

"Maybe you should stop being so harsh on her," Suzy said quietly. "Tsukomon is trying the best she can."

Yukimi whirled around. "How would _you_ know?" she sneered. "Don't tell me how to raise my Digimon."

"For one thing, Tsukomon is _not_ your Digimon," corrected Suzy. "She's your partner and lifelong friend. You can't treat her like that."

"Keep your opinion to yourself!" shouted Yukimi. "Tsukomon! _Hit that bunny!_"

Karou stood, looking into the sky at Taongmon. The ground he was standing on was scorched from Taongmon's previous attack. "Ryuudamon, get ready. If I know Taongmon well enough, he's liable to shoot downwards before attacking. Watch for a distraction."

"Right," replied Ryuudamon steadily.

Taongmon zipped downwards, eyes clear and focused. "Storm of Judgement!" Thunder boomed and black storm clouds rolled. Lightning crackled mightly.

Ryuudamon's head shot upwards. "Karou," he began worriedly.

"Keep focused and don't turn your head away from him," Karou ordered sharply.

"R-right." Ryuudamon turned to look at Taongmon, but a bolt of lightning startled him. Taongmon took advantage of the moment.

"Coiling Serphent!" Taongmon landed on the ground and quickly began to wrap himself around Ryuudamon. All this happened in the blink of an eye.

"Digi-Modify! Iron Body Activate!" Karou cried quickly.

Silver colored chrome crept up the sides of Ryuudamon, encasing the Digimon quickly. As Taongmon gave a squeeze, the armour fired off a pulse, forcing the Taongmon to uncoil, leaving Ryuudamon unharmed. The latter quickly raced back to his partner's side.

"Thought I told you to pay attention." Karou raised his eyebrow.

"Sorry," Ryuudamon hastily apologized.

Meanwhile, Rishou tapped his foot impatiently. "Well, are you going to attack first or do you want me to, Tamer?"

"_Stop calling me that_," Chazz snapped.

"My bad, Tamer."

"Let's teach him the hard way!" Ojama Yellow roared. "No one insults boss!"

"Right," Ojama Green agreed.

"Yeah," chimed Ojama Black. "Attack!"

The three brothers shot towards Rishou. The Assasin barely looked their way as Daiyoumon flicked the Ojamas with his tail.

"If you don't wish to make the first move, I will," warned Rishou. He leaped into the air and fired three cards.

Aairlmon jumped in, shouted, "Unvor's Breath!" and burned the cards.

"Zyatch Swipe!" A dragon like Digimon lunged in, slashing the air with his claws. The Digimon managed to hit Aairlmon and the Digimon fell backwards.

"What is that?" Chazz stared at the Digimon.

"Meet Sweliocmon," Rishou smirked. "While your pathetic Digimon burned those cards, as I thought he would, Daiyoumon digivolved, catching you two off guard."

* * *

"There!" Henry panted, pointing towards a stray beam of light. "That's our camp." 

"Great," Yazuki groaned. "My feet are _killing_ me."

Rika twitched. Nearly everyone had complained about their feet. She was losing it. "Quit. Whining. Now," she ordered through gritted teeth.

"We better hurry," advised Ryo. "Wildcat's getting cranky."

A voice suddenly pierced through the darkness. "Henry? Is that you?"

"Takato!" Henry called. "Make some room; we've got company!"

Minutes later, introductions had been made and everyone was seated in a large circle. "So," Henry said simply, "we need to get there as fast as we can."

Takato nodded. "Got it."

Every Tamer stood up and busied themselves; some checked through their cards, others went through battles plans and some just focused on panicking.

"What happens if we lose?" asked Kazu nervously.

"Then we're dead," Terriermon replied.

"My mom wouldn't like that," Kenta panicked.

"No, she wouldn't," agreed Terriermon. "She'd love it!"

Henry gave his partner a sharp look. "Not helping. And watch your manners."

Terriermon sulked.

Takato shouldered his backpack. "Ready guys?"

"And girls," Jeri reminded him.

"And girls," Takato added. Everyone nodded. "O-kay! Count off!"

A sigh rippled through the Tamers as Syrus and Alexis gazed in confusion. "Come on, Takato," Ryo pleaded. "Not that..."

Takato frowned. "Yes that! Now, count off! One!"

"Two," Guilmon chimed in.

"Three," Henry mumbled.

"Four!" Terriermon cried enthusiastically.

"Five," grumbled Rika.

"Six," Renamon calmly added.

"Seven," sighed Ryo.

"Eight," snarled Cyberdramon.

"Nine," chirped Jeri.

"Ten," Kazu put in.

"Eleven," droned Guardromon.

"Twelve." Kenta glanced around nervously.

"Thirteen!" MarineAngemon squeaked.

"Fourteen," muttered Yazuki unhappily.

"Fifteen." Meinumon's voice held no emotion.

Silence. Takato waited for the last two numbers, but none came. "Where's sixteen and seventeen? I mean Suzy and Lopmon?" he demanded.

Terriermon rolled his eyes. "Fighting, remember?"

"Oh yeah." Takato snapped his fingers. "Let's get going! Digi-Modify! Digivolution!" Rika echoed him.

"Growlmon!"

"Kyuubimon!"

"Okay." Takato glanced around. "Jeri, you, Kenta, and MarineAngemon come with me on Growlmon. Henry, you and Terriermon go with Ryo on Cyberdramon. The rest go with your partners. Any questions?"

"I think I'm too big for Guardromon," Kazu called out. "And you forgot about the duelists."

"Oh. Right. Alexis, you go on Kyuubimon with Rika. Kazu and Syrus...go with Yazuki on Meinumon. Guardromon, go on Cyberdramon. Did I miss anyone?" Takato glanced around.

"Don't think so," Ryo answered.

"Move out!"

"Takato...we're not in the army..." Terriermon told him.

* * *

"Himitsu no Yami!" Tsukomon shrieked, firing off a wave of what seemed to be darkness. 

Turuiemon hurriedly leaped out of the way. "Lightning Kung-Fu!"

Tsukomon dodged but was unable to evade the volley of kicks and punches sent her way. She shrieked again; this time in pain.

Yukimi's fists were clenched so tightly that her nails began to pierce her skin, drawing blood. "_What are you doing?_!" she demanded. "Focus!"

"And what are _you_ doing?" Suzy calmly asked.

Yukimi whirled to face her. "You...you...you shut up! I know what I'm doing!"

"Then explain," Suzy retorted coldly, "why Tsukomon is getting _hurt_."

"Because your...your _bunny_ is beating her," hissed Yukimi.

"Guess again," Suzy snapped as Turuiemon landed next to her. Aikomon collapsed in a heap onto the ground. "And Turuiemon is _not_ my bunny. He's my friend. Just like Tsukomon. And how do you treat her? By screaming and yelling."

As Suzy's words finally registered, Yukimi's face turned paler and paler. She dropped to her knees and stared blankly at the ground. "No...way..."

Suzy watched her without a word. "I don't know if your coldness is Akuonimon's doing but..." she trailed off. "This battle is over."

"Hey, what's up with Suzy and that other girl?" Aairlmon asked, looking somewhere else instead of focusing.

"Huh?" Chazz followed his partner's gaze and saw Suzy standing over Yukimi, more serious than he had ever seen her. Turuiemon stood behind her and Tsukomon--correction, _Aikomon_ lay sprawled on the ground.

Daiyoumon lunged forward, snapping his teeth.

"Woah!" Aairlmon jerked back. "Chazz, help!"

Chazz fumbled with his cards, chose two, and swiped them.

"Touhimon!" A familiar looking griffin landed in the field. "Kaze Burst!"

Daiyoumon hesitated too long and was forced to brace himself. The wind came stronger and stronger as Daiyoumon was sent farther and farther back.

"Now!" Chazz yelled.

"Griffin Rage!" yelled Touhimon. A burst of fire appeared from Touhimon's beak, shaped in the form of a griffin. It struck Daiyoumon straight on.

Weary from the long battle, Daiyoumon finally collapsed, reverting back to his Rookie form. "No!" cried Rishou.

"Finally," sighed Touhimon.

GinRyuumon galloped forward. "Tekkoujin!" A spear shot from the Digimon's mouth and made its way towards Taongmon.

"Fool," snorted Taongmon. "Just because you digivolved doesn't mean you can beat me." The dragon Digimon moved his head and the spear shot past him. "What did I tell you?"

"Look out," Karou smirked.

"For what?" Taongmon snapped when he felt his eyes suddenly widen in pain. He clutched his side. "What?"

"Blind spot," replied Karou. "Did you think I'd forget?"

"You..." Taongmon began when Karou cut him off.

"No," he said. "_Us_." Karou got into a stance. "Digi-Modify! Helper's Light!"

Karou took on a glow as GinRyuumon absored his partner's energy. "What kind of card is that?" Taongmon shouted, losing his composure.

"One that can only be used by friends!" GinRyuumon answered. "Seiryuujin!"

Taongmon cried out in pain. He crumbled, transforming into Hidrakemon as he fell.

"_Never_ underestimate us," Karou warned, placing a hand on GinRyuumon.

"My move!" Jaden announced. He began to draw when a sudden cold wind swept over him. "What?" he wondered as digivices began beeping.

Kasumi narrowed his eyes. "I _told him_ I could _handle_ it."

* * *

"This is bad!" Takato shouted, glancing at his D-Power. "Something big is heading towards where Suzy and the others are!" 

"How big?" asked Terriermon.

"Really big," Takato answered, his face pale. "It's..."

Ryo didn't need to hear Takato finish his sentence. He already knew the Digimon's name. Every Tamer in the group did.

* * *

As Suzy felt the familiar wind, her muscles tightened. "Not him...not now..." 

"We have to get ready," Turuiemon mumbled uncertaintly.

"How?"

Rishou stared at the sky, his fist clenched. "Why is he here?"

"Who are you talking about?" Chazz wanted to know.

"Must be someone bad," figured Touhimon, "or they wouldn't be acting like this." He nodded towards everyone else.

Them? Chazz glanced around. Suzy looked pale; Turuiemon's expression was one of fright. Karou's eyes were afraid and his body was tense. Ryuudamon's evolution looked like a mixture of anticipation and repulsion. Yukimi had no emotion whatsoever. The same went for Jaden, Sephiremon, Ikarimon, and Kasumi. Aikomon was still knocked out.

A chilling laugh swept throughout the field. A voice, all too familiar, asked, "_Miss me?_"

* * *

**TBC**


	12. Turning Tides

**The Digital Gate:** Thanks for your reviews.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon.

* * *

"Akuonimon...he's here," Rishou whispered. 

"And why is that a big shock?" Touhimon asked. He was sitting on the ground, his face a puzzled expression. Then again, he had never seen Akuonimon before.

"Because," Rishou said simply, "ever since his defeat, he's never left the castle. And now..."

Chazz stared at the growing mist around them. "Then we must be pretty important."

"Or Akuonimon must be really mad," suggested Touhimon.

"He didn't sound mad," Turuiemon's voice sounded behind him. Chazz spun around. Turuiemon and Suzy stood a few feet behind him.

Chazz frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I--we--_mean_.." Suzy paused and glanced towards where Akuonimon's voice had come from. "I mean, I think he sounded excited. Happy even."

"What?" Rishou had joined their conversation, looking stunned. "Why would he sound happy?"

Turuiemon paused and shrugged. "Bloodlust," he offered. Suzy's face twisted in disgust, as did Touhimon's. Chazz and Rishou simply stared at the Digimon. "What? Just saying."

"Wait," interrupted Chazz. "Something is happening."

"I think we can tell," Suzy muttered. Turuiemon glared at her. But before anyone else could speak, Akuonimon emerged, looking like he did the last time they encountered them; though this time, he had a hungry look.

_"Excellent job Kasumi,"_ Akuonimon rumbled. _"I'll take it from here._"

"Uh-oh..." Ryuudamon muttered. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Wait..what about our duel?" Jaden suddenly asked as Kasumi yanked off his duel disk. "We're not going to finish it?"

Kasumi fixed the Slifer with a cold glare. "There's no need to duel now. I've got something to do." Without another word, Kasumi strode into the mist, Ikarimon by his side.

"But.." began Jaden before being distracted; Akuonimon had begun his onslaught, or, revenge, on the Tamers.

_"Blazing Fire of Darkness!_" Black-red fire spewed from Akunonimon's pale mouth. The fire seared through the mist and towered over not only the Tamers, but the Assasins as well.

"Move out!" yelled Karou, grabbing Ryuudamon and running as fast as he could. Ryuudamon fell out of Karou's hands and ran on his own.

"What?" Rishou spluttered. "Why is he attacking _us_, the Assasins, too?"

"No time to worry about that. Run!" Touhimon shouted, soaring by with Chazz clutching his feathered back.

"Slow down!" Chazz yelled, grabbing on for dear life.

"Can't," Touhimon called back. "And you...Rishou, get you butt movin'!"

Suzy dashed underneath them, Yukimi, who was oblivious to the world, on her back. "Watch your language," she snapped. Turuiemon ran beside her, holding onto Aikomon.

"No time to think about that," the rabbit Digimon ordered. "That fire is getting closer and closer."

Chazz stopped yelling and glanced back. Turuiemon was right. The flame was cornering them. "Wait," Chazz realized with a jolt, "where's Jaden?"

Suzy skidded to a halt. "What?" she exclaimed.

"Jaden's not here!" Chazz repeated.

"Then where is he?"

Chazz threw up his hands in disgust. "How should _I_ know?"

Suzy groaned. "Trust him to do something like this--"

"Hey guys!"

"Eh?" Suzy and Chazz glanced up. Jaden was riding on Taongmon, waving at them cheerfully. "_Jaden?_"

"Digi-Modify! Shield Activate!" Rishou called out. Just before the flame caught up with them, a transparent blue bubble formed around the group. "Hurry up! Reinforce it!" Rishou instructed.

"Right," Suzy replied, placing Yukimi on the ground. "Digi-Modify! Shield Activate!"

The first shield broke, only to have a second one replace it.

"Digi-Modify! Shield Activate!" Karou yelled, repeating the others. A third shield appeared, the second shield covering it. "This won't last long. What should we do?"

"First of all, we aren't part of you guys," Rishou snapped. "'We' meaning me, Geotomon, Daiyoumon's Rookie form, for those of you who don't know, and Taongmon. We're still the Assasins and will _never_ join up with you."

"What about Yukimi?" Suzy asked suddenly.

"Yukimi? She's a disgrace," snorted Rishou. "Look at her." Yukimi lay on the ground, eyes closed, and barely breathing. Her skin was now a pale white. "She's no use to the Assasins anymore." _Wham._

Rishou toppled backwards as Karou punched him in the jaw. "Take that back," Karou ordered, his fists clenched.

"What?" Rishou snapped as the second shield broke. They could feel the fire now; it was becoming unbearably warm and stuffy.

"You heard me. Take it back."

"Why?" Rishou sneered, standing up and brushing himself off. "It's true."

"How many things have you been through together?" Suzy asked quietly, cutting into the conversation.

"Huh?" Rishou, stunned, couldn't find an answer.

"I said, how many things have you been through together?"

Rishou blinked. "A..a lot," he answered lamely.

"So why are you treating her this way?" Suzy glanced at him expectantly.

"Be..because..." Rishou trailed off. But before could answer, the third and final shield burst. Within seconds, the fire was upon them.

* * *

"There!" Takato yelled, pointing towards a misty field. "That's were they are!" 

As the group of Tamers and duelists neared, something was heard and Henry's heart stopped beating. "I..I hear screaming...and it sounds like _Suzy!_"

"Henry, stop!" Ryo shouted as Henry nearly leaped off of Cyberdramon. Ryo had caught him just in time. "Don't jump. We'll reach them faster this way."

"But," Henry began.

"But nothing."

"Can't we speed it up?" Henry begged.

Ryo gave a small smile. "Already ahead of you. Digi-Modify! Matrix Speed Activate!"

Cyberdramon gave a roar as he sped up, accelerating ahead of Takato, ahead of Kyuubimon, ahead of everyone else. They burst into the mist and located the others almost immeadiately.

"Digi-Modify! Digivolution Activate," Henry called out. "Attack Akuonimon, wherever he is!"

"Terriermon digivolve to...Gargomon!" Gargomon leaped off of Cyberdramon. "Gargo Pellets!" he shouted, randomly aiming.

_"That tickled,"_ a voice sounded through the mist. _"I'm guessing that the others are here."_

"You guessed right," Ryo answered. "Now where are Suzy and the rest?"

_"Dead, presumably,"_ replied Akuonimon.

"Wrong," Karou's voice called. "We're still here."

"What?" Heads turned as Karou, Suzy, still carrying Yukimi, Rishou, Chazz, Ryuudamon, Geotomon, Turuiemon, carrying Aikomon, Touhimon, Jaden, Taongmon, and Sephiremon emerged from the mist bearing burnt marks.

_"So you survived_," noted Akuonimon. _"Joy. Although, may I ask how you did?_" "Taongmon," Jaden replied. "He protected us from the fire. That's why he's the one who's burned the most. Turns out, he's changed his loyalty. He's with us now."

"Although _we're_ not," Rishou said pointedly, indicating himself and Geotomon.

"Henry?" Suzy suddenly asked.

"Suzy! You're alive." Henry sank back with relief as Terriermon slapped him on the shoulder, whispering, "Tol;d 'ya she'd be all right."

Suzy gave a grin. "Yup. Where are the others?"

"Right here." Takato, on top of Growlmon along with Jeri, Kenta, and MarineAngemon, came into the field, followed by Kyuubimon, Rika, Alexis, Kazu, Syrus, Meinumon, and Yazuki.

_"Oh, look,_" Akuonimon stated sarcastically, _"more Tamers for me to destroy._"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Kasumi suddenly called out from within the mist.

Akunonimon glanced around. _"__Kasumi! __When I said I could handle it, I didn't mean you could run off.__ Where have you been?"_ he demanded.

"Plotting your downfall."

A sharp intake of breath sounded throughout the field. _"What?"_ was asked simultaneously as jaws dropped. Akuonimon looked amused.

_"You're talking nonsense, Kasumi,"_ Akuonimon chortled. _"There is no **way** you can defeat me._"

"Is that what you think? Then think again. I haven't spent all these years in your shadow forever. Now is the time for me, the apprentice, to take on his master's job. Your time is over, old geezer."

_"Nonsense,"_ Akuonimon said, but he had turned a shade paler.

"Oh, really? Well, try to attack me and see what happens."

Akuonimon smirked slightly. _"Don't blame me if you get hurt. Needles of Pain!_" More than half a dozen sharp needles shot out and sped towards a certain spot. Something fell. _"What did I tell you?"_

"Never let your guard down." A second thud was heard. Akuonimon toppled to the ground, Kasumi landing behind him. "You can't beat me."

Akuonimon was up in an instant. _"Fire of the Underworld!"_

A plated dragon leaped in front of Kasumi and withstood the blow. Akuonimon's eyes registered shock. "I believe you've met Otodramon," Kasumi sneered. "Rookie form."

"What?" Suzy stared in shock. "That can't be."

"Yes it can," Rishou corrected. "Kasumi and his partner are the strongest out of us all, remember?"

"I didn't know they would be this much stronger.." Suzy stared in shock.

"Akuonimon doesn't stand a chance," Yukimi suddenly whispered. Everyone turned to her, startled. "Kasumi has been preparing for this for a long time now."

"How do you know?" Karou asked. Yukimi didn't answer but instead closed her eyes once more. "Yukimi? Yukimi? Yukimi!"

"Leave her alone," Chazz told him as Akuonimon fired off another blast.

_"Death's Anguish!"_ Akuonimon roared. Wisps of gray appeared from nowhere. At the tips of the strands were howling faces. The wisps flew towards Otodramon, who vanished.

"You forget how fast he can be," Kasumi reminded the Necromancer. "Oh, look, here he comes."

_"What?" _Akuonimon spun around. Nothing. _"You lie."_

"No, really."

"Wira Strike!" A small figure hurtled into Akuonimon's stomach, causing the Necromancer to stumble backwards. "Mystic Blaze!"

Akuonimon shrieked in pain. Suzy clapped her hands over her ears.

"This is...unbelievable.." Rishou couldn't speak. "Never knew...he was...that strong.."

"Kasumi had a lot of talents he chose to hide," Taongmon spoke gruffly.

"I think we can tell," muttered Ryuudamon. Karou silenced him with a glare.

Akuonimon tumbled backwards. Kasumi stood over him, malice laced across his face. "It's over."

_"No,"_ gasped Akuonimon._ "Please, Kasumi..."  
_

"I believe that was the first time you ever said 'please'," Kasumi smirked. "You're in my mercy, Akuonimon. And don't worry; I'll end this quickly for you."

_"No...Kasumi...no!_"

"Digi-Modify!" Kasumi shouted. "Digivolution!"

A jade-green scaled dragon appeared in Otodramon's place, covered with chrome plates. Sapphire eyes narrowed and the Digimon's mouth opened in a snarl. "Hidoimon." The voice of Hidoimon himself was like a whisper.

_"No...Kasumi...you can't do this!_"

"I can and I have," Kasumi replied coldly. "Hidoimon, end this."

"Inochi no End!"

_"No!_" Akuonimon's cry died away, leaving particles of gray data to float into the air.

"Absorb," Kasumi ordered. Hidoimon obeyed as Kasumi smirked once more and spoke. "So ends the legend of the Necromancer. And now, a new ruler takes his place. Too bad for you, 'master'." The last word was spoken with bitterness.

As Kasumi turned away from where Hidoimon was, the Tamers looked on in shock. "Im..impossible," Suzy choked out. "If he defeated Akuonimon _that easily_, then what chance do we have?"

"None," Rishou replied. "We'll defeat you all."

"After all this, you're still on his side?" Ryuudamon's eyes nearly bugged out in amazement.

Before Rishou could answer, Kasumi called out: "Now, who's next?"

"This..could be trouble," Takato stated shakily.

"You think?" Kazu asked sarcastically. But Kasumi called out once more.

"Nevermind that. I'll just destroy you one by one. Hidoimon!" Everyone flinched but Hidoimon only turned around. Kasumi muttered something.

Hidoimon leaped forward. "Blazing Stream!"

Fire, accompanied with metal spikes, burst from the dragon Digimon's mouth, and soared towards the group on the ground. In other words, Rishou, Geotomon, Ryuudamon, Karou, Chazz, Touhimon, Jaden, Sephiremon, Yukimi, Aikomon, Taongmon, Suzy, and Turuiemon.

"Oh boy." Jaden stared at the oncoming flames. "More fire."

"Why are we being attacked again?" Rishou nearly screeched with rage.

"No time for that. Run!" Karou took off, Ryuudamon right behind him.

Yukimi didn't move. Suzy skid to a halt and desperately tried to move her. Turuiemon finally placed Yukimi on her back and ran. Suzy grabbed Aikomon and followed.

Karou and Ryuudamon got out of Hidoimon's attack range first, then was followed by Rishou and Geotomon. Chazz and Touhimon landed next with Jaden, Sephiremon, and Taongmon. Turuiemon was the next Digimon and, dropping Yukimi, turned back to Suzy.

"Hurry!"

Suzy didn't reply and instead threw Aikomon. "Sprained my ankle." She said those words with a certain calmness.

"Then _limp!_" Turuiemon shrieked.

Henry, who was observing out of shock, finally realized what was going to happen. "Suzy!"

Suzy didn't answer and stared straight at the fire and the spikes within the flames. Just before a needle hit her, someone got in the way, taking the blast for Suzy.

Suzy stared in shock. Whoever had leaped in the way was most certaintly dead. As the flames died down and the needles disappeared, everyone stared, astounded.

The person who had leaped in the way was falling backwards and into Suzy's shaking arms. Suzy only spoke one word, in a hushed tone: _"Yukimi.._"

* * *

**TBC**

**The Digital Gate:** Credit goes to LazerWulf for Otodramon.


	13. Evolution

**The Digital Gate:** Thanks for your reviews. Has anyone else's school started and been running for about a month?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon or Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

* * *

No one was able to speak. They only could watch in complete silence as Yukimi fell backwards, straight into Suzy's trembling arms. 

The next words that were spoken came from Yukimi's mouth. And those words were one of the few things that Yukimi would ever say again.

"Suzy..." Yukimi barely managed to get the name out. "Suzy, listen to me..."

"I'm listening," Suzy answered hoarsely.

"Look, I'm sorry about everything I said," Yukimi began before losing her train of thought. She restarted, "I need to tell you something...something important..."

As Suzy leaned closer to hear, Kasumi watched with a bored expression on his face. He yawned. "Enough of this sap. Hidoimon, get rid of them."

The Digimon obeyed. Opening his maw wide, Hidoimon roared, "Gacktu Blue Fire!" True to its name, blue fire spewed from Hidoimon's mouth, creating heat waves.

"Eliminating Flames!" Red and blue clashed as Rishou hauled Suzy out of the way. Yukimi was left behind, causing Suzy to panic.

"Leave her there," Rishou snapped, yanking Suzy roughly by the arm and shoving her onto the ground. "Kasumi _wants_ you to go back for her so he can _destroy_ you, understand? So stay here and be a good girl. Daiyoumon's attack won't hold long."

"But..." Suzy began.

Rishou cut her off. "But nothing. Yukimi..." He hesitated, searching for words. "Yukimi...is already dead. There's no need to go back for her. And don't go yammering to me about how cruel it is. That's the life of an Assasin."

"But I'm not an Assasin," protested Suzy. "Now let me--"

"Too late," Rishou interrupted her again. He was careful to avoid her eyes. "Daiyoumon!"

Daiyoumon broke away from his battle and clattered over to Rishou's side. Hidoimon's attack, no longer having a competitor, rushed over the ground and over Yukimi's body. Rishou and Karou flinched. Chazz looked away. Jaden managed to watch. Suzy froze and her body began to shake. Turuiemon dedigivolved and rushed to Suzy's side.

Back on Growlmon's head, Jeri gave a small gasp and buried herself into Takato's arms as the rest of the Tamers looked on silently. "That kid...is ruthless," the goggled-headed leader finally said.

"Even colder than Rika," agreed Ryo. He meant it as a joke but everyone glared at him in response. "Sorry."

"Now is _not_ the time for jokes," Kyuubimon spoke up. "This is serious."

"Everything in the Digital World is," Gargomon put in cheerfully.

Henry shot a look at him and Gargomon turned away guiltily. "Everything except you," Henry mumbled quietly.

Kasumi's voice caught their attention. "So, Rishou, who's side are you on now? I'll have you know the Assasins are no longer a group. Yukimi is dead. Karou has shown his betraytal. And as for me..._I'm_ the next Necromancer."

"_What?_!"

Kasumi smirked. "I was the late Necromancer's apprentice. Seems fitting that I should be his sucessor."

"You...sick human," Rishou spat out. "No, wait. You're not human. You're...you're a _monster_."

"That's a compliment to me." Kasumi absentmindedly scratched an ear. "You'll have to think of better insults, brat."

Rishou gritted his teeth. "And to answer to your question, I'm still an Assasin. It doesn't matter that I'm the last one. And right now, the Assasin's enemy is _you._"

"I'm honored," Kasumi answered dryly, "to be recognized by the weakest, wimpiest, whinest, most worthless member of the once Assasin group."

Rishou was on his feet in an instant. "Take that back!"

"See?" mocked Kasumi. "You're also quite hot-headed. You whine for something until you get it. You're worthless when it comes down to power."

"Liar!" Rishou screamed. "Tyrant! I'm _none_ of those things! I'll _prove_ it. Daiyoumon, let's go!" He was about to throw himself into battle when his cape caught on something. Rishou spun around. Karou. He had him stuck in place.

Karou's right hand was grasping onto Rishou's cape tightly; his eyes were locked onto Rishou's face. "Do you want to die?"

"What kind of question is that?" Rishou snapped, trying to tug his cape out of Karou's hands. "Let go!"

"Do you_ want_ to die?" Karou repeated, tightening his grip. "Do you _want_ Daiyoumon to get deleted? Do you _want_ his data to get absorbed?"

"No. Now let _go!_" Rishou finally succeded in yanking his cape free. He was never going to wear it again after all this was over. It was causing way too much trouble.

"Then don't fight him," Karou told the Assasin. "It's that simple. By fighting Kasumi, you're pretty much running straight to your death."

"How would you know?" retorted Rishou angrily. "Or are you on _his_ side?"

"Think about Kasumi and Akuonimon's fight," answered Karou. "Remember how Kasumi had Akuonimon begging for mercy? Akuonimon was stronger than all of us. And Kasumi had him on his knees."

Rishou paused. His arms went limp. "Then how do we beat him?"

"By 'we' I'm guessing that you're with us?" Karou glanced at Rishou expectantly. Rishou nodded. Karou began to speak, but was interrupted by Jaden.

"Uh...guys?" Jaden began. "Suzy's acting all weird."

"She's always acting weird," muttered Chazz. His back was turned to the rest of the group. "It's normal for her."

"No, really," insisted Jaden. "She's shaking all over. Look." Karou and Rishou turned around.

Suzy's body was shaking with convulsions. Her head was clutched tightly between her hands and was between her knees. Her face was deathly white.

Jaden's words had caught Takato's attention as well as Kasumi's. But while Kasumi watched with bored amusement, Takato panicked. "This is bad," Takato mumbled to himself. "Really bad."

"Why?" Growlmon asked curiously.

Takato hesistated, unsure of whether or not to share the memory. "It's...it's when we first came to the Digital World," he finally said. "And remember when Beelzemon...deleted Leomon?"

Growlmon paused before nodding. "And you got really mad."

Takato flushed. "Yes, I got mad. And you digivolved...but the digivolution was wrong, remember?"

Growlmon paused before nodding. Henry, who thought that the memory was painful for Takato, asked, "What about it?"

"I think..." Takato guestured towards Suzy. "I think...that if no one stops her, the same thing is going to happen to Lopmon.."

Heads snapped in Takato's direction. "_What?_" Rika all but shouted. "Are you _sure_ Goggle Head?"

"I thought she was just cold and needed a jacket!" Kazu added.

"But Lopmon's digivolution might go wrong?" Ryo, along with everyone else, looked shocked. "Can you prove it?"

"Look!" Gargomon shouted. "Suzy's digivice is reacting!" He was right. Suzy's digivice had started to glow and a swirl of light was forming around Lopmon.

"Takato was right!" The normally calm Meinumon was panicking.

"Somebody stop her!" yelled Yazuki loudly. "DON'T. LET. LOPMON. **_DIGIVOLVE!_**"

"What?" Jaden blinked in confusion. "What are they yelling about?" he asked Rishou.

Rishou straightened and was quiet for a moment. "I don't know..."

"They're saying... 'don't let Lopmon digivolve,' or something like that," Karou discovered. "But why?"

Touhimon leaned in the direction of the Tamers, listening intently. "Something about a digivolution going wrong."

Karou's eyes widened. "That's it! Suzy's rage at Yukimi being killed by Kasumi is going to _force Lopmon to digivolve._"

"In other words..." GinRyuudamon began. "..Lopmon will digivolve into the wrong form."

As the words registered, Karou and Rishou began to panick. "Stop her!" they both yelled at the same time.

"How?" Jaden wanted to know.

"I don't know--just do it!" Karou shouted. He grabbed Suzy by the shoulders and began shaking. "Listen to me. Snap out of it!"

One by one they each tried to get to Suzy. None of them succeded. Suzy's trembling grew more and more violent. The light around Lopmon began to churn and froth.

"Chazz, do something!" Jaden called. Chazz hadn't moved.

"Why?" he scoffed.

Jaden paused for a moment. "Because you and Suzy always get into fights. Can't you make her start argueing with you or something?"

"As if," Chazz snorted. Ojama Yellow appeared beside him.

"Aw, come on boss!" the duel spirit begged. "Just this once. For meee?"

Chazz glared in response. Suddenly a wind whipped around them. The light grew stronger. "Fine," he spat out. Chazz stormed over to the shaking Tamer.

"Hey," Chazz shouted above the wind. No response. Chazz smacked Suzy on the head. "Pay attention when I speak to you!" Suzy didn't answer. "I said, _pay attention!_" Suzy didn't look up.

Chazz grew more and more frustrated. "I said..." he began, leaning over and grabbing Suzy by her shoulders, "listen!"

No response. Chazz, unable to stand being ignored anymore, forced her head up, more or less screamed, "_Pay attention!_" in her face and smashed his lips against hers.

He felt Suzy stiffening up as she stopped trembling. The wind stopped howling. The light around Lopmon faded into nothing. Everyone stared in shock.

Back with the older Tamers, Gargomon broke the silence. "Hey, he stole her second kiss too!" the bunny Digimon exclaimed. "Wonder if he gets her third kiss..."

"Not...helping.." Henry managed to get out.

After around twenty seconds, Karou asked, "Don't you think you should be stopping now?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Suzy and Chazz pulled apart. Both their faces were scarlet.

"I..uh...only did that to stop you," Chazz mumbled awkwardly.

Suzy was busy looking at an interesting grain of sand. "I know."

"Now that _that's_ over with," Kasumi called out, "let's get this fight on, shall we?"

"Right," Takato answered. He and Growlmon's other passengers leaped off of the Digimon's head. "Go, Growlmon!"

Growlmon roared and charged forward. "Pyro Blaster!" A fireball shot from his mouth heading straight for Hidoimon.

"Go," Kasumi ordered. Hidoimon turned and smashed his tail into the fireball. The latter promptly vanished. "Attack," instructed Kasumi.

"Chrome Shower!" Hidoimon shouted. His armor glowed and fired off bright beams of energy. Hidoimon began to spin in a circle. The beams of energy were everywhere, tearing everything in its path.

"Uh oh," Jaden groaned. "This is bad."

"You think?" Chazz snapped sarcastically, his face still slightly red.

Taongmon called, "Reflective Gaze!" A shimmering mirror appeared. Growlmon sped backwards frantically. As Hidoimon's attack came into contact with it, the mirror bulged, sucked in the attack, and fired it straight back.

GinRyuudamon gave an appreciative whistle. "Nice. But that still doesn't solve our problem."

"We'll take care of that," Aikomon promised, struggling to her feet. "Taongmon and I will distract Kasumi and Hidoimon while the rest of you escape. Now that Akuonimon is gone, the gates should work properly again."

"What?" Karou appeared stunned. "You can't! You'll get deleted!"

"I'm doing this for Yukimi," Aikomon replied. "I don't care if I get deleted in the process."

"And this is for you, Karou," Taongmon added, "as an apology for betraying you. You always treated me better than Akuonimon did."

"There's no stopping them," Lopmon said. He was still pale from Suzy's outburst. "Let them go."

Karou hesitated, glancing around before giving in. "All right," he sighed. "Just..just be careful."

Taongmon gave a small smile before soaring into the air. Aikomon looked back and told Suzy, "Thank you. For trying to save Yukimi," before flapping her wings and catching up to Taongmon.

"What's going on?" Takato exclaimed, catching up to Growlmon. "Those Digimon are just heading to their deaths!"

"Digimon can't die Takato," Growlmon reminded him.

"Jaden," Sephiremon suddenly said quietly. "Jaden, there's something I need to tell you."

Jaden glanced at his Digimon partner. "What is it?"

Sephiremon fidgeted uncomfortablely. "I... think I know a way to defeat Kasumi."

"What?" Everyone turned and faced them, interested.

Sephiremon fluttered around nervously. "I..erm..if someone biomerges..I can transfer my power to them. And..that might be enough."

"So what you're saying is," Rishou began slowly, "is for someone and their Digimon partner to biomerge. Then you can give that person and Digimon your power."

Sephiremon nodded. "Something like that."

Karou glanced around. "Who here can biomerge?"

"I don't even know what that means," Chazz scoffed.

"Me neither," Touhimon added.

"Or me," put in Jaden.

"Henry can," Suzy mused. "So can Takato, Rika, and Ryo. Yazuki too."

Sephiremon shook his head. "It has to be someone who's never biomerged before. Someone who's still pure."

"Pure?" Geotomon repeated blankly, saying something for the first time.

"Yes, pure," Sephiremon replied. "So, who can do it?"

Before anyone could answer, a long wail echoed throughout the area. Aikomon was being deleted. Kasumi smirked coldly as Hidoimon absorbed the data. Suzy watched them painfully before turning back.

"I will."

"Eh?" Lopmon asked, "Are you sure, Suzy?"

Suzy, looking pale, answered, "No. But we'll never know if we never try, right?"

"She's got a point," Karou mumbled. "Okay, somebody tell others what we're planning."

"I will," Touhimon volunteered.

"I'll stay," Chazz replied.

Touhimon shrugged, jumped into the air, and flew towards Takato. He landed beside the Tamer and began talking quickly and urgently. Takato's shock showed on his face but nodded.

The goggled headed leader turned back and began giving orders. Rika, Ryo, Henry, Takato, and their respective partners took out their digivice, called out an order, and biomerged.

"Gallantmon!"

"Sakuyamon!"

"Justismon!"

"MegaGargomon!"

Kasumi heard their cries and turned towards the four Mega Digimon. "Hidoimon, finish the dragon off," he ordered. Hidoimon obeyed and Taongmon faded from existence without a sound. Karou, who was watching, flinched. _Thanks for everything, Taongmon..._

"Now, let's have some fun." Kasumi glanced meaningly at the opposing Digimon.

As Hidoimon flew to meet the Mega Digimon, Suzy looked horrified. "What're they doing?" she cried. "They'll get hurt!"

"They're buying time for you," Touhimon told her, coasting in. "In case it doesn't work. And if all else fails, Yazuki and Meinumon are there."

Suzy looked even paler than before. She turned to Lopmon. "Should we?" Lopmon nodded.

"But remember," the Digimon told her, "it has to be for the right reasons."

Suzy watched her brother block Hidoimon's tail and squeezed her eyes shut. Her right hand gripped her digivice. "You can do it," Touhimon encouraged. "Right Chazz?"

"Huh? Oh, whatever," Chazz answered absentmindedly.

Suzy's eyes flashed open and light swirled around her and Lopmon both. Their forms merged into one and grew larger and larger. The light faded away to reveal a angelic pink and white Digimon. "Cherubimon."

Sephiremon watched, then closed his eyes. He began to glow and began forming a weapon. A red jewel was implanted in the golden hilt. Its blade was sharp and fine to the point. Jaden eyed the weapon sadly. "Nice knowing you, pal," he whispered.

Cherubimon slowly picked up the sword. As he did so, a change came over him. Once again, the Digimon was engulfed with light. And when the light faded, a human-like Digimon was in its place.

Cherubimon now looked like a knight and was covered with pure white armor. Yellow markings were visible on the metal plates. A helmet decorated with thin pink swirls adorned the Digimon's head. A gold cape billowed out from behind.

"It's time," Suzy and Lopmon said fiercely, "for the final battle."

* * *

**TBC**


	14. Hope

**The Digital Gate:** Whoops. Been a month. Thanks for your reviews

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon.

* * *

Kasumi smirked. "Final battle? I think I know how it'll turn out, don't you?" He snapped his fingers and Hidoimon turned abruptly and leaped to his side. The four oncoming Mega Digimon halted in confusion. Kasumi's eyes flashed dangerously. "This is what happens when anyone challenges me. Go, Hidoimon!" 

Hidoimon sprung forward, teeth bared. Cherubimon raced forward in response, sword in hand. Hidoimon made the first move.

"Inochi no End!" he bellowed, sending forth a spiral of dark gray smoke. Cherubimon quickly skid to a halt and held out the sword in front of him.

"Ori Circle!" the Digimon yelled. A bright circle of light erupted from the point of the blade and rapidly enlarged. Hidoimon's attack met it straight on.

The circle bulged but stood firm. Suddenly Hidoimon's attack flew back out. This time, in the wrong direction.

Hidoimon gave a start but quickly regained himself. "Oume Shower!" Dozens of blood-red stars burst from the Digimon's mouth.

Stars and smoke met head-on. And canceled each other out. Kasumi's eyes narrowed slightly. "You're better than I thought," he spat out, "but you forget. Hidoimon is only a _Champion_."

Cherubimon gave a slight grimace. "Actually," the Digimon replied, "I was hoping you would forget."

Kasumi smirked. "Hope is nothing. Digi-Modify! Matrix Evolution Activate!" he roared, swiping an electric-blue card.

"Hidoimon digivolve to…" the dragon Digimon rumbled, raising his head to the skies, "Shingimon." Hidoimon's Ultimate form was, once again, in the form of a dragon.

Liquid-blue scales decorated the Digimon's body. Pale yellow eyes stared out from beneath a golden helmet. Jade talons sprouted from spread paws. Shingimon stared unpleasantly at Cherubimon who gulped like a fish out of water.

Kasumi turned his back. "You know what to do, don't you?" Shingimon nodded silently in response. "Then go."

Shingimon sprang forth, mouth open in a snarl. Cherubimon fell back. Suddenly a cry rang out: "Biomerge! Densetsunekomon!" Shingimon's eyes popped open in surprise as a Digimon rammed into him.

Densetsunekomon stood there, glaring down upon the dragon Digimon. "Never leave your side wide open."

A guttural snarl came from within Shingimon's throat. His tail shot out, tripped Densetsunekomon, who promptly fell backwards. Cherubimon brought his sword down, striking Shingimon on the head and momentarily confusing him.

"What are you _doing?_!" Cherubimon shouted as Densetsunekomon struggled to his feet. "Are you _trying_ to get killed?"

"I could say the same for you," Densetsunekomon returned. "I take it Yukimi told you something important?"

Cherbuimon froze at the mention of the dead Assassin's name. "Yes..."

Densetsunekomon raised an eyebrow. "Well, then."

Cherubimon hesitated. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

Densetsunekomon nodded. "I have back-up." He pointed behind him and Cherubimon caught sight of Sakuyamon, MegaGargomon, Justismon, and Gallantmon racing towards them.

"Fine," Cherubimon grumbled. "But I won't like this."

"We have no other option," answered Densetsunekomon. As Shingimon recovered and let out a roar, Densetsunekomon snapped, "Now go!"

Cherubimon gave a slow nod before turning. Pure white wings sprouted from the Digimon's back as Cherubimon sprang into the air. Three wing beats and he was gone.

From behind the safety of the other Tamers, Jaden frowned. "What's Cherubimon doing?" he wondered aloud. He and the others had quickly moved when Cherubimon had leaped into the fray.

Kazu shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Just hope it isn't anything reckless," Karou mumbled. "Wish I could help in some way."

"You can help by not getting in the way," Touhimon offered helpfully.

"..Thanks… I think..."

* * *

"Lightning…Joust..!" Gallantmon shouted desperately, thrusting his weapon forward. Ten minutes of fighting was starting to get to him—and his companions. Unfortunately, Shingimon was still going strong. 

The dragon Digimon easily sidestepped the attack. "All you can do?" Shingimon scoffed. "Omninous Blaze!"

A large black-grey frothing spiral shot from Shingimon's mouth. Gallantmon tried moving out of the way but found, to his dismay, he couldn't. Sakuyamon, Justismon, Densetsunekomon and MegaGargomon found out the same thing.

"What the—?" Densetsunekomon spluttered, trying to move his feet.

"Oh boy," MegaGargomon groaned.

The 'Ominous Blaze' rolled over them in seismic waves, causing pain—along with dedigivolution.

Much to their alarm, the Mega Digimon, one by one, glowed and grew smaller until only four humans and four Digimon were left.

"This is bad," Ryo mumbled under his breath. "Really bad."

"You think?" Rika snapped.

"Calm down, Rika," ordered Takato. "I'm sure we can think of something. There _must_ be a way."

"_How?_" Terriermon cried. "Suzy and Lopmon ran—flew—off to nowhere, we're getting trashed by an _Ultimate_ level Digimon when it's four against one, and you say there's _still_ a way?"

"Watch it, Terriermon," Henry ordered, panting slightly. "We just need to find a way to stall Shingimon."

"We've already tried," Yazuki put in. "Ten minutes should have been enough. What is taking Suzy so long?"

Shingimon cleared his throat. Digimon and humans turned to see him towering over them. "Haven't forgotten about me, have you? Kasumi has ordered me to get rid of you, so get rid of you I shall."

Terriermon gulped. "Can't we just...play rock-paper-scissors or something?" he asked nervously. "It's safer than killing."

Shingimon gave a cold smile. "Afraid not."

As Shingimon opened his mouth to call out something and as the Tamers reached for cards, Yazuki muttered under his breath, "Come _on_, Suzy."

* * *

Cherubimon scanned the empty castle desperately. Nothing. The Digimon gave a moan and smashed his head against a nearby wall. 

"Ouch!" Lopmon shouted. "Suzy, what was that for?"

"This is _hopeless_," Suzy groaned. "We've been looking _everywhere_ and there's nothing in _sight_."

"That doesn't mean you can go ahead and crack your head against a wall," Lopmon grumped. "I feel the pain too, you know."

"Sorry."

"What were Yukimi's exact words again?"

"…Uh…"

Lopmon groaned, resisting the urge to do as Suzy did and pound their head against a wall. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten!"

"Actually…she never told me where. She just said a hint might be here."

"Really?" Lopmon sounded doubtful.

"Uh…maybe."

"Suzy! You mean to say we've been here for _nothing?_!"

"Basically, yes."

"_SUZY!_"

"Sorry."

**Flashback**

"_Listen…" Yukimi began. "Kasumi...he's got a weakness. A big one. If you use it against him, I think...I think that you can beat him."_

"_Honestly?" Suzy asked. "Are you **sure**?"_

"_Positive." Yukimi paused to moisten her dry lips. "I don't…know how you can…use it against him, though."_

"_Never know till I find out," Suzy replied. "Mind telling me what it is?"_

"_Getting to it. It's the reason…why the Digital World is shrouded… in darkness." Yukimi broke off coughing._

"_Don't hurt yourself."_

"_A bit late…for… that. Anyways, what Kasumi is… **really** afraid of…is the sun."_

_Suzy's jaw hung open. "What?"_

"_The sun," Yukimi repeated. "Lights… don't do much… damage against him, or the… moon, but the sun… does. The Digital… World's sun is bad… enough to him, but Earth's sun is… worse. Way…worse"_

"_The sun?" Suzy asked. "Are you sure?"_

"_Why else… would Akuonimon block all… access to the sun? Because Kasumi… is helpless…during the…day. And the Necromancer… wouldn't want… his beloved apprentice… to suffer, now… would he?"_

_Before Suzy could say anything, before Yukimi's eyes closed for the final time, Suzy heard a distant roar: "Gacktu Blue Fire!" and "Eliminating Flames!" before she was hauled away._

**End Flashback**

Lopmon gave another groan. "This is pointless. Henry and the others are risking life and limb to give _you_ enough time to do what you need to do. And you do you use it? By goofing off."

Suzy flinched. "Oh lord.."

"Exactly. Now let's get going. Staying here is fruitless." Suzy silently agreed and Cherubimon leaped out of a window and into the night.

Little did they know, a Digimon was watching them closely. Teeth bared. "I _will_ avenge you, Master... I swear."

* * *

"Midnight's Doom!!" Shingimon shouted. Obsidian shadows hung about the Digimon's body as Shingimon raised a paw. Black energy burst into it, pulsing from within. Shingimon raised his hand slightly higher before smashing it deep into the ground. 

Takato shouted a warning from atop WarGrowlmon's head. Ryo and Cyberdramon halted in mid-air, unsure of what to do. Rika reached for a modify card. But already they were too late.

Energy ripped through the air, tearing the skies and creating a disturbance in the atmosphere. Anyone who was within a mile of the battle was caught in the aftershock. But only the five Tamers and their Digimon partners caught the onslaught head-one.

Takato screamed as the energy rippled through his body and writhed on the ground in convulsions. It was as if his heart was being torn out over and over again. And to add insult to injury, his worst nightmares replayed through his head repeatedly. Leomon's death…Jeri's agony…

The others were no better off. Flashes of terrifying horror raced through minds as the Tamers and Digimon yelled.

The aftershock was less painful. Chazz gritted his teeth as a pounding headache began. Over the screams, he shouted, "What's going on?"

"What?" Kazu yelled back. "Who's making yawn? That makes no sense!"

"What's going on?"

"Chickens yanking dawn? That makes no sense!"

"_What's going on?_!" everyone roared.

"Oh." Kazu paused. "They're in pain."

"I can _see_ that," Chazz snapped. "But _why?_"

"Shingimon—I _think_ that's his name—is using some form of attack. I don't know what it does, but it must be pretty painful for Henry to be rolling over and over again like that." On an afterthought, Kazu added, "Or for the guys to be screaming like girls."

"This is a serious matter," Alexis exclaimed. "How can you be making _jokes_ at a time like this?"

Kazu shrugged. "It's my job."

"Is it?" Chazz remarked. "Well you're fired."

"And re-hired!" Jaden added.

"Not helping," Syrus told him. "At all."

Jeri squirmed as she watched Takato in pain, unable to help and hating every minute of it. "Where _is_ Suzy?" she mumbled.

* * *

"That's enough." Kasumi approached Shingimon, eyeing the Digimon and Tamers. "I want to ask them something." 

Shingimon obeyed, holding up a hand. The effect was immeadiate. Takato stopped writhing and slowly sat up, panting and shaking slightly.

Terriermon clutched Henry's arm. "That was scarier than being dressed up by Suzy," he muttered. Henry shot him a look and the Digimon sulked.

"Suzy," Kasumi stated. "She's that girl, isn't she? The one who morphed with the brown rabbit. Where did they go?"

"Like we'd tell you," Rika spat. Kasumi snapped his fingers and Shingimon sprung forward. In an instant, Rika was dangling in the air, Shingimon's tail wrapped around her neck.

"Oh, I think you will," Kasumi smirked.

Ryo was on his feet in an instant. "Monster!" he shouted. "Cyberdramon!" Cyberdramon snarled, flapping his leathery wings.

"I wouldn't do that," Kasumi remarked. "Unless you want the girl to die."

"Put her down," warned Renamon, "before you get hurt."

"Empty threat." Kasumi flicked an invisible fleck of dust off his shirt. "Now tell me before someone gets hurt."

"Like you?" A blur rammed into a surprised Kasumi, sending him sprawling on the ground. "Leave them alone."

Rika dropped to the ground, gasping for air, as Shingimon raced to defend Kasumi. Yazuki was on his feet. "Digi-Modify! Net Activate!"

Thin cords sprung from the ground and wrapped themselves around Kasumi and Shingimon who both snarled.

"It won't hold long," noted Yazuki before turning. "Suzy? Is that you?"

Cherubimon stood there, wielding his sword. "Who else? Santa Claus?"

"Did you find out how to beat him?" Yazuki asked.

"Nope. Wasted our time," Suzy answered.

"_What?_" raged Terriermon. "We risk our lives, get our butts kicked by _one_ goofball of a Digimon, have our hearts feel as if they were torn out and _you_ have the nerve to say—in a cheerful voice of all things!—that it was all a _waste_ of _time?_!"

"Yup," was the reply. As Terriermon opened his mouth to rant some more, Cherubimon added, "But I think I may have figured out something."

Terriermon crossed his arms and glared at the Digimon. "For your sake and my sanity, it better work."

"Your sanity is already long gone," Cherubimon replied, turning serious. "But this might work if everyone cooperates."

"Worth a shot," Henry stated. "What else do we have to lose?" Silently, all the Tamers agreed. "So, what do we need to do?"

"Someone go and tell the others that I'm going to do something," Cherubimon answered, "and say I need to them to keep still."

"I'll go," Yazuki volunteered. He and Meinumon raced off. The others watched them converse and finally Yazuki turned around and gave Cherubimon a thumbs-up.

Just then the net burst and faded away and Kasumi and Shingimon stood there, glowering unpleasantly.

Before they could do anything, Cherubimon leaped into the air with a clap of his wings, sword held straight up in the air. "Ethereal Ring!"

A glowing circle appeared and spread rapidly. As it did, beams of light shot up to meet it. Their source—the Tamers' digivices, Kasumi's included.

As Kasumi gaped down at his digivice, face lit up by the glow, the circle continued to swell in size before stopping.

Cherubimon's sword enlarged in size. The circle and its light were sucked into the sword's tip. Cherubimon paused, getting into a stance. Then, shouting, "Orphic Blaze!" Cherubimon thrust the sword into empty space.

The blade's tip erupted, pouring out light. As the light met the darkness, light won and the darkness vanished. The Digital World's sun appeared, shining in its own light.

Kasumi let out a howl and dropped to the ground, clutching his head. Shingimon quickly stood over him, covering Kasumi with his own shadow but, to his surprise, found himself glowing and returning to Otodramon.

Another howl came from Kasumi. But it was cut off as another shadow fell over him. Suzy stood there, offering her hand.

"What're you doing?" he croaked. "Why are you trying to help me now?"

Suzy shrugged. "No idea. But you look a lot less scarier when you're huddled up like that."

"How did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Make the darkness go away. How did you do it?"

Suzy paused. "No idea. Just winged it."

"And if it had failed, you would have been killed along with your friends. Why did you bother?"

"Er…well I remembered from Digimon's first season when Angewomon did a similar thing so Lopmon and I agreed to try it."

"Why?"

Suzy hesitated. "Hope, I guess. We both hoped it would work for the sake of the others and it did."

Kasumi hauled himself up and stumbled slightly. "Hmph. The other Tamers need you now."

"Eh? Oh." Suzy raced off to join Takato, Guilmon, and the rest who all congratulated her. Kasumi watched for a few seconds before hobbling off, Otodramon faithfully at his side.

* * *

"They did it," Kenta murmured in awe, gazing at the sky. "They really did." He let out a whoop. "Alright!" 

Yazuki grinned in spite of himself.. "We'd better get back to the others."

When everyone had gathered around Takato, the goggle-headed leader announced, "We ought to be getting home now. The Necromancer and his apprentice are defeated."

"But what about Kasumi?" Suzy asked. "Are we just going to leave him here?"

"I don't think we have a choice," Henry told her. "He and Otodramon are gone." Suzy peered behind him and saw that what her brother said was true. She shrugged.

"His loss."

"Right." Takato cleared his throat. "When I open the portal, I'm going to try and open it up so we can land at Duel Academy. I'll be first and Yazuki, you'll be the last. And when going through, go as fast as you can without bumping into anyone. I don't know how long the portal will stay open.

"When we get wherever we are, if we're not in Duel Academy, Chazz, Aairlmon—when did you go back to your Rookie form?—Jaden, Alexis, and Syrus, we'll arrange a ride for you.

"If we _do_ land in Duel Academy, the rest of us will depart shortly. So if you need to say goodbye to anybody, I suggest you do it now or prepare a short speech.

"Any questions?" Takato scanned the group. "No? Okay then, stand back." He faced a random part of the Digital World and held up his digivice. "Here goes nothing!" Takato cried.

A portal opened, multicolored dots decorating the air. "It worked! All right, troops, charge!" Takato and Guilmon dove in and disappeared, Rika and Renamon on their heels.

One by one, Digimon and human dove in the portal in pairs. Soon it was Jaden's turn. "Let's go, Syrus old buddy!" the ever enthusiastic duelist cried, leaping in.

"Wait up!" Syrus groaned, scrambling after him.

Alexis turned to Chazz. "You want to go in first?"

"No, you." Alexis nodded and turned, walking into the portal and vanishing. Chazz turned around and faced the rest. Only Henry, Terriermon, Suzy, Lopmon, Yazuki, Meinumon, himself and Aairlmon were left. "Who's next?"

"I'll go," Henry decided. "Suzy, you'd better come in right after me," he warned.

"I will," Suzy promised. As Henry and Terriermon vanished, a shout caught the remaining Digimon and human's attention. Suzy whirled around. Kasumi knelt on the ground, clutching his side. Otodramon stood in front of him, teeth bared.

_What are they doing?_ Suzy wondered, scanning the area. Suddenly her heart thudded. Kobunmon. The Digimon was charging towards Kasumi, a growl thundering.

Otodramon leaped but was already weakened. Kobunmon caught the Rookie Digimon across the chest with a paw and tossed him aside.

He then rounded on Kasumi. Grabbing the human with his paws, Kobunmon then proceeded to strangle him. "This..is..what..you..get..for..destroying…my..master!"

Kasumi, rendered helpless by the sun, could only manage a throaty croak as three humans and three Digimon watched.

"So..now what?" Lopmon asked. "Do we help them or not?" Before anyone could answer, he added, "The portal is closing by the way."

Suzy gave a quick glance over her shoulder. Lopmon was right. The portal looked smaller than it had before. She let out a groan. "But we can't just _leave_ him."

"Sure you can," Yazuki answered. "It's easy, really. What you have to decide is whether or not you want to leave him."

"Right." Suzy shuffled towards the slowly diminishing portal, every so often glancing behind her. "Maybe I should help."

Yazuki shrugged. "Up to you."

Aairlmon tilted his head. "Why _would_ you help him, anyway? _He_ tried to kill us all, remember? And besides," the Digimon added, "Kasumi wouldn't have done it for you."

"I know," Suzy grumbled, now shuffling past Chazz slowly. Suddenly stopped, turned around. "Oh, _confound_ it all." Then she was off, tearing past Yazuki, Lopmon on her heels.

Yazuki watched her. "Thought she would," he stated. "Better go help. And you," he called over his shoulder, "stay _put_."

Then he was off, chasing Suzy. He reached out and grabbed her wrist. Suzy skid to a halt. "What are you _doing?_!" she demanded.

"I'm not against you," Yazuki replied. "I'm with you. But we can't just charge up. We kind of need a plan."

"Okay. Here's one: let go of my wrist. Kasumi's air is going to run out soon."

Yazuki let go of Suzy's wrist. "I realize that. But—" Before he had finished, Suzy had run off. He groaned. "I shouldn't have let go…"

Suzy slowed down as Lopmon caught up with her. "Er…now what?" she asked.

Lopmon shrugged. "Who knows?" Bending over, Lopmon selected a thin rock, bounced it, and then threw it as hard as he could.

Kobunmon whipped around as the stone made contact with his head. His eyes locked onto the Tamer and her partner. Kasumi fell to the ground. "Were _you_ two responsible for Akuonimon's deletion as well?"

"What if we are?" Suzy retorted.

Kobunmon snarled and opened his mouth. "Baiku…Roar!"

A piercing howl shattered the air. Suzy clapped her hands to her ears. Lopmon hugged his floppy ones to his body.

"Hey!" Yazuki shouted from behind them. "Stop that! Did you hear me? I said…STOP THAT!!"

Kobunmon ignored him and continued to roar. Meinumon gritted his teeth and rammed into the other Digimon.

"Lashing Whip!" Kobunmon's tail snapped out against Meinumon's right eye. The Digimon howled and rolled away.

Kobunmon whirled around and charged. "Infinite Shake!" The ground began to shake violently. Kobunmon's paws had begun to glow a crackling yellow and left a trail of dust in his wake. Yazuki fell over. Kobunmon aimed for him.

"_Move!_" Suzy shouted. "You _moron!_"

"I'm _trying!_" Yazuki retorted.

"Well it's not _working!_"

"I can see that!"

"Good!"

Kobunmon was almost upon Yazuki now and, to the Digimon's frustration, the Tamer was paying no attention whatsoever and instead was arguing.

"Platinum Snare!" A silver web exploded under Kobunmon's feet and proceeded to wrap itself tightly around the Digimon.

As Kobunmon struggled, the same voice shouted, "Fire Shaft!" A beam of red fire struck the net and enveloped it, along with the Digimon inside.

A howl rang out. A sudden rush of data came from within the net. Kobunmon had been deleted.

Yazuki and Suzy quit shouting at one another and turned to see who had deleted the Digimon. A pearl white griffin, standing on its two hind feet, stood there, grinning.

Gray armor decorated the Digimon's body. An onyx-black helmet covered the Digimon's eyes. A staff was held in the Digimon's hand. Chazz stood behind the Digimon, staring at two cards.

Suzy looked from Chazz to the Digimon. "Did _you_ do that?" Chazz nodded. "Really?" Another nod. "_Really?_" Another nod.

"I'm Gryphonmon," the Digimon introduced. "And you two argue a lot."

"Isn't 'gryphon' another word for 'griffin'?" Lopmon asked. Gryphonmon shrugged. "Just wondering."

Yazuki stood up. "Well," he stated, "let's get going. The portal is way smaller than it was before—_what?_!"

"Ack! Run!" Suzy shouted, sprinting towards the portal, dragging Kasumi behind her her coat over his head. "If it closes, we'll be stuck here. I don't know how to open another one!"

Just as the portal had gone to the size of a breadbox, Suzy and Lopmon collided with it before vanishing. Yazuki, followed by Meinumon, smashed into it next. Last of all, Gryphonmon, holding onto a complaining Chazz, went through—and landed on top of a heap of humans and Digimon. Groans were heard.

"What happened?" Suzy asked, her voice muffled from underneath Gryphonmon. "And would you mind getting off?" Gryphonmon quickly rolled away—this time on Yazuki.

"Apparently Goggle-Head slipped and fell and couldn't get out of my way," Rika answered above Yazuki's complaints. "And then Renamon landed beside me and before she could help me up, Hot Shot decided to land on us, followed by Cyberdramon. I think you know the rest."

It was ten minutes before everyone was standing on their own feet. Takato explained that they were, in fact, on Duel Academy and the Tamers and Digimon were leaving that night.

"So," Takato concluded, talking to the non-duelists, "do whatever you want but don't be seen. I don't want us to be mistaken as criminals."

"Yes, sir."

Takato turned to the duelists. "You might want to be getting back to your dorms or classes now. If you want to see us off, be at the docks at 10: 20 PM. Any later and we'll be gone."

* * *

At 10:20 PM, the Digimon who could fly were in the air with their respective Tamers. The Digimon who couldn't fly were on one of the multiple rafts in the water, again with their respective Tamers. 

Jaden, Syrus, Alexis, and a reluctant Chazz stood on the shore, seeing them off. In Chazz's hand was a small note, unknown to anyone but him and Suzy. The latter had given—actually thrown—it to him.

Aairlmon was with Suzy. Takato had insisted on taking him along. Aairlmon would cause too many questions at Duel Academy and might attract enemy Digimon to the island. So Aairlmon reluctantly agreed.

As the rafts and Digimon disappeared into the night, Jaden yawned. "I'm sleepy. Night." Before Jaden left, he gave a glance at his right hand. In it was a small feather. Sephiremon's feather, given to him by Henry who had found it.

Syrus and Alexis left soon afterward, leaving Chazz alone. He unfolded the letter and began reading it.

_Hi. Not good with these things but Henry said I had to write one. He annoys me sometimes. Then again, siblings are supposed to annoy one another. I think._

_Anyways, I know you don't want to remember anything about the Digital World or us, but your digivice is in that package Henry gave you. Aairlmon said he'd cry if he saw it, so it's yours._

_Kasumi says thanks (not really) for saving him. Notice the not really part. Otodramon told me to write that. He and Kasumi are hiding under a jacket. Well, Kasumi is, anyway. Don't know what we're going to do with him._

_Karou and Rishou, and their partners, are going to live with us. Us being Henry, me, my older brother and sister, and my parents. Just in case your wondering. Probably not.  
_

_Don't expect to see us again. We won't expect to see the rest of you either. Good luck._

_-Suzy Wong. _

_Henry wants to tell you something, by the way. That's his handwriting underneath mine. Not a goat's.  
_

_Funny. Well, I just want to say: good job and thanks. You helped us even though you didn't want to. And from what Suzy told me, you saved Yazuki when he and Suzy were yelling at each other._

_And like Suzy said, don't expect to see us again. Attached to this letter is a picture, signed by all of us. Jaden, Syrus, and Alexis have all gotten one as well. Keep it, throw it away, or do whatever you want with it._

_So, thanks again. The Digital World is safe and the darkness is over._

_-Henry Wong_

Under Henry's signature were two letters, written in a different handwriting. Chazz squinted, but still couldn't see them clearly. "'For…now,'" he read. "Why does it say that?"

Shrugging, he crumpled the letter, getting ready to toss it into the sea. After a moment's hesitation, he shoved it into his pocket.

Chazz unwrapped the package and, true to what Suzy had written, it was his digivice. He placed it along with the wadded letter.

As he did so, he noticed a sheet of paper on the ground. Remembering what Henry had written about the picture, he picked it up.

On one side, everyone was crowding around a birthday cake which was in front of a grumpy Rika. On the other side, there were signatures. Dozens of them. Messy handwriting covered the entire side.

Chazz flipped to the other side and gazed it for a moment before turning and walking off. He didn't expect to see any of them again. He hoped to. He really did.

Besides, the important thing—right now—was that he could finally rest. The Necromancer's darkness was finally over.

* * *

**Owari**

**The Digital Gate:** Ehh…terrible ending. I'm planning a sequel, but I'm not sure if I have enough time to do it.


End file.
